I did it every time when I flew gliders (the landing without an engine part, not the landing in a field part, though that sometimes happened). This kid did do a good job of choosing a good field that he could reach without encountering obstacles, that was pretty flat, and he didn’t panic in the process.
I have long believed that the U.S. should do what many European countries do, and require all pilots to first obtain their glider rating. Since one of the most common causes of fatal accidents in powered aircraft is a stall/spin while trying to execute the “impossible turn” back to the airport after an engine failure, it is essential that pilots improve both their judgement and their control coordination before they are thrown into these situations. Far too many make the wrong decision (turning back) and then fail to maintain airspeed (by pulling up when they see the ground rushing up) followed by rushing the turn with too much rudder, and next thing you know, stall followed by spin.
If they had more experience in an aircraft for which every landing is a forced landing, they would be far better prepared for that moment when the fan up front stops turning.
I got to fly a B-58 simulator once, landed in the POL dump.
— require all pilots to first obtain their glider rating”
Not a pilot, but recall about the famous Gimli Glider.
Thankfully the Pilot in Command was also a glider pilot!
I was reading this on the train as it arrived at my stop, had to finish on the platform, and reread it when I was home.
A GREAT write-up from the WSJ 1984.
http://www.eaa67.org/Archives/1985/Airliner%20out%20of%20fuel%20-%20WSJ%2012-12-1984.pdf
And the fatal problem with the pitot tube, Rio-Paris...