How Far Can a Jet Go on One Engine?



No one wants to hear about an engine failing when you're flying. What could possibly go wrong? But within the first minute of this video, we are assured that it's not all that serious. It's a good thing that commercial aircraft have two engines! Here they explain a little more about aircraft engines, but as far as the question in the title goes, it all depends on the aircraft. At least it can fly far enough to get to an airport and land. Now, if you're flying with a single-engine plane, you've got plenty to fret about if you lose an engine. -via Digg


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Even though it is correct, what the guy in the video says.... it is only true if the flight captain turns off one engine... In case of an unwanted engine shutoff, the reason for this shutoff is very important for your decision to panic or not... Is it caused by an event that only effects a single engine? Such as a Rüppel's Griphon Vulture sucked in at at a height of 11,300 m (37,000 ft) is a no-panic scenario.A plane loosing an engine because one sucked in one birdie more than the other from a flock of doves or seagulls is a different cenario...A catastropic engine failure with additional damages of other vital aircraft components is also a panic scenario.An engine failure caused by neglected mainenence or fatique of engine components is also a pro-panic-scenario, as usually both engines have the same age and maintenance history...An engine failure caused by impure fuel or a lack fuel is also a kind of "do panic" case. Just remember the "Jacarta incident" where a 747 lost all 4 engines due to volcanic ash. Comparing incidents that only affect a single engine, and the incidents that affect all engines of an airliner... in my humbe opinion the "Do Panic" scenarios outnumber the "Don't Panic" scenarios. But even in case of an all engines gone case an airplane still can be operated as a kind of sailplane and does not fall from the sky as a stone l. But keep in mind that in case of an emergency your flight crew has a lot of stuff to deal with and some extra "Cargo compartment Panic" may just distract the flight crew so much that the decision that saves the Plane and the Passengers may get delayed so much that a fatal crash becomes unavoidable. So apart from any mechanical or statistical reason, it is always better not to panic (even if the plane is on fire) as the panicing passengers or flight crew always reduce the chances of a less leathal outcome.So DON'T PANIC even if you have 42 reasons to do so...
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