On Sun, 5 Dec 2004 10:31:07 -0800, mindenpilot wrote:

Seems to me, I'd much rather be on the east coast when I have an engine
failure, instead of out here where you're lucky to find that dry lake bed
(instead of a mountain).

Adam,

Sounds reasonable enough, HOWEVER, where you have 100's of miles of empty
space where a dry lake bed is available, and the east coast has lots of
airports, one has to be intimately familiar with the area you are flying in
congested areas.

Airports out my way in the deep south are not so easy to spot, and if one
has an engine failure, sometimes the airport may not be the best place to
land with considerations of wind, obstructions and so forth.

It also could get you in trouble to stretch out your best glide to a runway
when you have a suitable landing spot within a better range.

There was an incident out my way where someone was flying from Atlanta to
Monroe LA, and he was trying to make it to an airport but ran out of
altitude. He landed on a major state route with no injuries to himself,
passengers or drivers on the road. The road was between two airports (JAN
and MBO) and he made a correct decision to put it on the highway rather
then stretch out his glide over populated areas enroute to an airport.

Allen