Minimum Safe Altitude for Engine Out Turn Back To Airport

[RobertGary1]

And it really depends on the aircraft. The lowest I ever did a turn back in an actual engine failure was a J-3 at 300 feet. But 300 feet in a J-3 is a lot of altitude.

In the glider standard training is 200 feet (at is always real because you can't simulate it).

[Boilermonkey]

The turn back is a great topic, unfortunately I've witnessed it not working out.   (they (two pilots) were flying a M20M, only a year different in production than mine, at my former home airport)

As an observer who replays the events often it was easy to see outside the aircraft that there were problems on or after rotation.  The easiest issue was how much runway they had ate up before rotation.  The safer option would have been to push the airplane back down on the runway and possibly slide off into a metal fence.  That's not what happened, they continued, wallowed, began a turn back, and crashed.  Not in a stall, but they had no room to put it down safely, causing one to perish and their other to have life threatening injuries. 

Now speculation and what I have taken away from that tragedy.  

1)  An engine failure at low altitude is best handled by being hyper-aware of what is happening during the takeoff...and putting it back down immediately.  (try to avoid the need to turn back)
--What are you're EGTs doing?   Runup, initial roll, rotation, 100ft, 200ft, DER
--What can you hear?  Turn on noise cancelling after 1000ft.
--Fuel flow & pressure
--Take off distance (how much runway have you ate up before you commit to rotation &&& where you could put it back down?)

2)  Always look at maps to find fields, roads, rivers, etc. that you could land on straight ahead wherever you are planning to fly.   (even choose airports based on that....I moved airports for that reason!!)

3)  Practice turn backs and engine outs...but that's a last resort.
 

[Jerry Pressley]

I fly mostly airplanes now with problems.  On any takeoff I do in one that has a chance of engine failure {don't remind me they can all quit}. i get off the ground and with a little altitude i make a slight turn to the right and climb out pretty steep but always keeping speed.  When sufficient distance from the runway I parallel it.  If the engine quits while I have enough runway left to get back on it is simple to line back up and set down.   If not enough to do that then i have enough behind me to get back there.  I am always watchful for loss of engine and immed.  push the nose over to keep my speed and with the nose down a 180 is easy and safe.   Done it quite a few times and never a problem or question I was going to make it. 

[mike_elliott]

4 hours ago, Boilermonkey said:

The turn back is a great topic, unfortunately I've witnessed it not working out.   (they (two pilots) were flying a M20M, only a year different in production than mine, at my former home airport

Bill did NOT try a turn back to the airport with only 150' of altitude and only 1000 feet of runway left. He flew the plane straight ahead as he should have and as the track shows.