F orced landings are one of the most feared scenarios that run through a pilot s mind.
It s understandable since, following an engine failure, the pilot loses much control of the vertical dimension of flight. You ve likely had either a catastrophic engine failure or some form of pilot-induced failure such as fuel starvation or exhaustion. Working on your side is the fact that forced landings are usually very survivable. According to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, only 5.2 percent of forced landings result in pilot fatality. In 69 percent of the crashes there were no injuries at all.