Aircraft engines, for obvious reasons, are supposed to be reliable, but having one tank is a recurring nightmare for many pilots. How often does it happen? Often enough, but as AVweb's Paul Bertorelli reveals in this video, the risk is not really as high as many of us imagine and more than half of engine failures are caused by pilot or mechanic mistakes.

Here's a video on how water contamination caused one deadly crash. It relates to material in this video.    • How to Avoid Five Deadly Takeoff Mist...  


How about the runway turnback maneuver. That topic is covered in this video:    • Cub Theatre: The-Not-That-Impossible ...  

Landing on a beach is occasionally an option after an engine failure. Here's what's involved:    • Emergency Landing: Beach or Breakers?  

And, of course, you can always land on a road or highway:
   • How to Crash Land An Airplane On A Fr...