A pilot and his passengers share a personal moment after a successful deadstick landing. The Skyhawk was landed without a scratch, a new engine installed and the airplane was flown home from this field.

But it only has one engine! What happens when it quits?”

If you’ve heard that once from a non-pilot, and you’ve been flying for any length of time at all, you’ve heard it a thousand times. Yes, aircraft engines do fail—they’re mechanical devices, after all. But an engine failure doesn’t automatically mean a fatal accident. In fact, many full or partial engine failures don’t even result in an NTSB report or an FAA inquiry. That’s because most of them are handled successfully by the pilot and don’t result in aircraft damage or personal injuries requiring any reports to the NTSB or any FAA enforcement actions. That says a lot of good…