WATCH: Who needs two engines anyway? Plane flies back to OR Tambo Airport with just one engine

Picture: John McArthur/unsplash

Picture: John McArthur/unsplash

Published Apr 5, 2023

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There are issues in the sky, again.

A tweep recently shared a video with the following caption: “Engine failure at 15 000 feet! Limped back to ORT on one pro”, which is a dramatic account of an aviation incident that could have ended in disaster, or not?

The tweet implies that the aircraft’s engine failed while it was flying at an altitude of 15000 feet and that the pilot had to fly the plane back to O. R. Tambo International Airport using only one engine, but is it really that big of a deal?

According to a ‘’Flight deck friend’’ report, despite advancements in aviation technology, an airplane can still encounter an engine failure during flight.

In such situations, the pilots are given extensive training to deal with the emergency and safely land the plane using only one engine.

Although it may seem like a daunting task, the aircraft can even continue with the take-off and complete the flight without any further complications.

In addition, a CNN report states that by law, planes should be have the ability to fly from point A to point B over water using just one engine.

In Australia, safety regulators have established guidelines that require any plane departing with the intention of reaching a specific destination to be capable of doing so on one engine, based on pre-take-off load calculations.

This rule guarantees that the aircraft can safely arrive at its destination even if one engine fails, as seems to have been the case here.

The plane can continue to fly until it exhausts its fuel. In essence, these planes are designed to perform equally well with one engine as they do with two.

While some tweeps were fearing for the passenger(s), others claim that it’s not as scary: “Oh dear ... that’s my worst nightmare.’’

‘’It’s called ‘flying with one engine’ – all pilots learn this early on in their training,’’ wrote another.

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