A PIREP: engine-out turn-back - some practice in the haze

On 2005-06-15, Dave S wrote:
The second, final time, he was a bit lower, and in trying to turn
back, ended up making a VERY steep banked turn, and hit the lone stand
of trees off the end of the runway.

It's not only altitude - it's terrain. For example, departing 08 at
Ronaldsway, I'd want a bit more altitude for thinking about turning
around - because if you come in too low, you hit a cliff (the departure
end goes off a small cliff into the sea). Most times, I'd rather ditch
and have to swim back to shore (an eminently survivable option) than
risk hitting a cliff head on (which is eminently unsurvivable).

Runway 26 is also obstructed on its departure end (lights, a low wall,
and a main road) - so I wouldn't make a minimum altitude turn back there
either.

However, at Andreas, the surrounding terrain is just fields and low
hedges. Off 11, the 'hedge' is just a border of weeds between the wheat
field off the departure end and the runway itself, so I'd be inclined to
turn around at a lower altitude there (and since it's the airfield I
most often fly from, I'm a lot more familiar with it anyway).

--
Dylan Smith, Castletown, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net
"Maintain thine airspeed, lest the ground come up and smite thee"