Understand your flight

What happens if a plane engine fails?

Airliners are designed to keep flying, climb and land on one engine, and pilots practise exactly that. Here's what the rules require, what the crew does, and what you'd notice from your seat.

6 official sources, listed at the end Checked October 19, 2026
Photo: Ypsilon from Finland, CC0
In this article · 7 sections
  1. The short answer
  2. How much margin is built in
  3. If it happens on the takeoff run
  4. What pilots do
  5. What about over the ocean?
  6. And if both engines stop?
  7. Keep reading

The short answer

Engine failures on modern jets are rare, and when they happen, the airplane keeps flying. Twin-engine airliners are certified to climb with one engine inoperative, including at the most demanding moment, just after takeoff.1 The crew follows a practised procedure and lands at a suitable airport, usually the one they just left or one nearby.

How much margin is built in

US certification rules spell out how well an airliner must climb with its most critical engine out. For a two-engine airplane in the takeoff configuration with the landing gear up, the steady climb gradient must be at least 2.4 percent on the remaining engine.1 In plain words: it's not just "able to stay up". It has to keep climbing away from the ground.

If it happens on the takeoff run

Before every takeoff, the crew works out a decision speed called V1 from approved performance data. The FAA's handbook explains it this way: below V1 it's considered safer to stop within the runway; at V1 and above, the pilots continue the takeoff, because the airplane can complete it safely after a failure of the most critical engine.2 That decision is made before the airplane ever starts rolling, so nobody has to improvise.

What pilots do

Engine failure is one of the most practised scenarios in airline training. US proficiency checks for airline pilots include a takeoff with a simulated failure of the most critical engine after V1, and an approach flown with one engine simulated as failed, continued to touchdown or a missed approach.3

In a real event, the crew follows a checklist, secures the affected engine, talks to air traffic control and usually returns to the departure airport or diverts to a nearby one. To passengers it can be surprisingly undramatic: maybe a change in sound, then an announcement.

What about over the ocean?

Twin-engine jets flying long distances from airports operate under ETOPS rules. In US regulations, ETOPS covers two-engine airplanes flying more than 60 minutes from an adequate airport (calculated at one-engine-inoperative cruise speed), and requires special approval, maintenance practices and route planning. An "ETOPS-180" approval, for example, allows routes up to 180 minutes from a suitable airport on one engine.4, 5 More in flying over the ocean on two engines.

And if both engines stop?

Airliners don't fall out of the sky; they glide. In 2009, US Airways flight 1549 lost thrust in both engines after hitting birds shortly after takeoff from New York LaGuardia. The crew glided to a landing on the Hudson River, and all 155 people aboard survived.6 See also bird strikes.

Bottom line: airliners are designed with redundancy at every level: engines, hydraulics, electrics, and two trained pilots. Losing one engine is a well-rehearsed, manageable event.

Keep reading

Quick answers

Can a plane fly with one engine?

Yes. Twin-engine airliners are certified to keep climbing with one engine inoperative, including just after takeoff, and can fly to an airport and land on the remaining engine.

What happens if an engine fails during takeoff?

Before takeoff, the crew calculates a decision speed called V1. Below it they stop on the runway; at or above it they continue the takeoff, because the airplane is certified to climb away safely on the remaining engine.

Do pilots practise engine failures?

Yes. US airline proficiency checks include a takeoff with a simulated failure of the most critical engine just after V1, and an approach flown with one engine simulated as failed.

What would I notice if an engine failed?

Possibly a change in engine sound, a slight yaw, and then an announcement. Most passengers then experience a calm return to the departure airport or a diversion to a nearby one.

Sources

(6)
  1. 14 CFR § 25.121, Climb: one-engine-inoperative
  2. FAA Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Chapter 16: Transition to Jet-Powered Airplanes (V1 and engine failure on takeoff)
  3. 14 CFR Part 121, Appendix F: Proficiency Check Requirements
  4. 14 CFR § 121.7, Definitions (ETOPS)
  5. FAA Advisory Circular 120-42B, Extended Operations (ETOPS and Polar Operations)
  6. NTSB Accident Report AAR-10/03, US Airways Flight 1549, Hudson River

Facts last checked against these sources: October 19, 2026.