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by goodcanadian 1865 days ago
He might not have been aware of the full extent of the damage. He is on final; the plane is flying; he's lost an engine; he's going to land it. There is no time for anything else.
2 comments

He might not have been aware of the full extent of the damage.

This is likely true. He was the only person onboard the plane, so he would not have been able to get up and look. Unlikely he could see the extent of damage from his seat. And as noted, on final approach, he doesn't have time for much to change plans. Even if he knew the extent of the damage, the choices are roughly the same - land as planned, or go around.

That said, he did exactly what he should. Aviate, navigate, communicate. He controlled the plane, made a decision, and communicated that to ATC. Well done.

I think it’s amazing planes can fly sort of straight with only one engine providing thrust though.
He was on final. The engine was providing little more than idle thrust. If he were taking off some serious rudder input would have been required.
... and that rudder input would have put additional stress on the weakened fuselage.
Engine failure is the most important thing you are trained for when you transition from flying single-engine airplanes to multi-engine.

Most multi-engine airplanes can even take-off and climb with only a single engine functioning. You would never do it intentionally, but sometimes engines fail shortly after takeoff when you are 50 feet above the runway.