"Bil Reese" wrote:

Usually the problem with a two engine A/C loosing an engine very suddenly
is... Loosing one engine suddenly causes a yaw which to great to save the
plane still using the other engine and application of a LOT of opposite
rudder to avoid a fatal spin condition... From what I seem to remember
regarding general aviation, the crash rates of dual engine planes is about
1/2x higher than in single engine planes, BUT those dual engine planes that
fall out of the sky have a 3 times higher death rate per crash than single
engine planes.. so which one is more safe??? the plane that crashes a
little less, or the one that will kill you more quickly ??

BR

There are stats and then there are stats. Which is right usually
relates to what you want to prove at the moment.

While what you say may be true with regard to general aviation, most
tactical military aircraft are center-line thrust, so the engine out
yaw is really insignificant. Not too many problems losing an engine
even in critical flight regimes as long as you're above min control
speeds.

OTOH, my experience with regard to combat engine losses was that there
was no significant difference between single engine and multi engine.
Certainly if the loss is a pure mechanical failure, a second engine is
nice, but if the first engine is lost due to battle damage, there's a
good chance the second engine will follow shortly thereafter.

Now, all that being said, I've got a good friend flogging heavies for
American Airlines who recently transitioned to 777s. I asked him about
what you do with a fully loaded crowd-killer that losses one of those
behemoth engines on the wing right at Vmc or shortly after lift-off.
His answer was that it's all computer controlled. Engine is pushed up,
engine is shut down, rudder is input, controls respond as required to
provide neutral control impressions to the driver. Neat stuff. Takes a
lot of the thrill out of the business.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (ret)
***"When Thunder Rolled:
*** An F-105 Pilot Over N. Vietnam"
*** from Smithsonian Books
ISBN: 1588341038