[KellyAdmirer]

Engines are designed to break off when a plane spirals violently.

? How is having no engines on a plane with absolutely no gliding ability supposed to help anything?

[lelio]

I suppose it gives you a chance to right the plane so you can land on its belly. Also less mass would hit the ground at once, possibly making for a "safer" landing.

[Dinsdale]

How is having no engines on a plane with absolutely no gliding ability supposed to help anything?

It's better then no wings. Something is going to give.

All planes glide, some glide like a rock.

[billorites]

Engines are designed to break off when a plane spirals violently.

Better to lose the engines and keep the wings.

[Slicksadick]

I believe commercial aircraft are required to have at least a 12:1 glide ratio.

[Bobby777]

Reminds me of AA191 out of Chicago ... the no. 1 engine climbed up and over the wing (from the fuel left in the lines) ... it does this to keep from impacting the wing / aircraft ... unfortunately, when it went, it yanked the hydralics out ... the DC-10 had no locking mechanism for the forward slats / rearward flaps ... they retracted creating a lift imbalance ... supposedly the pilots performed the correct "engine out" procedure (they had no way of knowing it had separated) of stalling the aircraft to 160 knots ... however the left wing was stalling already the the aircraft rolled as the right wing lifted due to its slats / flap deployment (high degree of lift for takeoff) ... the aircraft rolled into a near-nosedive ... the whole flight was 45 seconds IIRC ...

however, in the case of 191, it was definitely mechanical failure due to improper attachment of the engines to the pylon and then to the wing ... proper procedure was to attach the pylon to the wing, and then attach the engine to the pylon ...

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

that's exactly what I was wondering.

[eno_]

Right. That statement is utterly bogus. In fact, AB engine pylons are not deisgned to fail under any circumstances, unlike some Boeings and MDs, which are designed to have the engines come off in a gear-up landing.

[El Gato]

How is having no engines on a plane with absolutely no gliding ability supposed to help anything

I thought that seemed a bit odd too. So was the statement that the crew initiated a series of back and forth rudder movements. The obvious question would be "why?". They sure wouldn't be doing it just for the heck of it, especially on climbout.