No good statistics exist on the incidence of in-flight engine emergencies in general aviation. Accident statistics are available, but of course these tell us nothing about actual in-flight shutdown rates, because not every engine stoppage results in an accident, (and not every accident gets reported, in any case). Statistics kept by the National Transportation Safety Board show that-year after year-about one out of seven aviation accidents is caused by an engine malfunction not involving fuel starvation. In a typical year, U.S. civil aircraft rack up about 35,000,000 flight hours (or, accounting for twin-engined planes, about 40,000,000 engine-hours), incurring some 3,500 or so accidents, of which 500 involve engine problems.
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