Can a two-enging airplane fly with just one engine?

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lizdylan2003

yes, one engine will work... and i'm sure of this b/c i'm a flight medic and i fly on a plane that has 2 engines and 1 has gone out more than once... thats why there are 2 i guess :)

porschefraulein

I think so-- for Boeing planes, I know the answer is yes. My sister is an aero engineer for the company, and I asked her that same question once. Apparently, it's a standard qualification in the inital design parameters for any aircraft they build. I would assume Airbus & such have similar standards...

dr h lecter

yes

Voight-Kampff

Sure, most WWII bombers were designed to fly like that (for obvious reasons). Some four-engine planes could still run on one engine.

knowitall

With a good pilot at the controls this should be something they are trained for.

Any passenger aircraft that flies over water...such as the Atlantic ocean.. must have at least 2 engines and not be more that 2 hours away from an airport..
Normally any aircraft flying across the Atlantic is well within these limits.

On Sunday 29th April, a ThomsonFly Boeing 757 (2 engines) taking off from Manchester Airport, England struck a pair of herons, sucking both into the right hand engine. Whilst it was safe to continue the flight, the pilot decided to return to the airport, which he did in total safety. The short answer to your question is a resounding yes. There have been many engine shutdowns in flight which have been without incident.

In the early 1990's, a British Airways Boeing 747 flew through a huge cloud of volcanic ash, shutting down all four engines. The aircraft effectively became a giant glider, but the crew eventually managed to restart the engines after several minutes in a steady descent, averting a major disaster.

dels replies

Yes a twin engined aircraft can fly and land on one engine. It is a requirement to obtain an air worthiness certificate,.A pilot's training includes asymmetric(single engine) flying and landing.The pilot will also train doing single engine circuits and bumps( that is landing but not stopping, taking off again. circle the field and land again. time after time to practice one engine landings.I remember that in the 1950's I was a passenger in an air force Douglas Dakota, a twin engine transport plane, propeller driven, on a fairly short flight from Manston in Kent to Chivenor in North Devon.Norm,ally took about an hour(These planes only flew at about 180mph) Shortly after take off one engine failed.We continued on one, but the weather was awful.At a speed not much above stalling the plane flopped about all over the sky.It was pretty nerve wracking.We eventually got to Devon and landed. The flight took nearly 3 hours.Modern passenger jets will have much more power even in one engine so you honestly have nothing to worry about.I was an air force aircraft electrician for two years National Service. If them old boneshakers could stay in the sky I am sure modern aircraft can.

Bob N

Yes. It's happened 1000's of times already as proof.

nicemanvery

Yes , 100% sure !!

go_around

I fly 4 engine airplanes. For most of our takeoff weights we would have to lose all 4 engines before we could not fly. Obviously if they airplane is heavy 1 engine will not be enough to climb out after takeoff. In flight, large aircraft have the ability to dump fuel overboard in response to an emergency. If the pilot needs to, he can dump fuel to be able to stay airborn on 1 engine. This is not usually neccessary however.

roryinthemorning

yes they can, but they make an emergency landing

Tim

Yes. I've seen a lot of action movies and they always manage to land with just one engine.

barrie b

believe it or not , YES it can , but would be on a alert with all surrounding air controls , in case of a emergence landing.

can not explane anything else.

Bryan G

umm, id guess it still can but the plane will lose balance to one side, and fuel will be used up faster than 2 engines running together

Hagaar

Yes; BUT! It obviously depend on the kind of plane you are in. Some planes I have flown can even take off with only one engine, with some others I could barely keep it in the air long enough. You can fly a plane on only one engine but it is not advisable. It's like driving a car with a flat tyre, sometimes you can go for miles without a problem and then sometimes not.

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