"Peter Skelton" wrote in message
...
I don't know about the others but my understanding is that the
Skymaster was an attempt to design a twin engined plane that would
have the same overall dimensions as a single engine aircraft and be
safer to fly since it would eliminate asymetric thrust during engine
failure. The ironic thing is that the Skymaster safety record is no
better than a conventional twin.- Hide quoted text -

Yes. One of the classic crash modes of the Skymaster is when the pilot attempts
a takeoff after failing to notice that the rear prop is not turning. The
procedure developed to detect that simple condition is to lead with the rear
engine throttle. If you push in the throttle and the noise level remains
unchanges, it is time to abort the takeoff and investigate!

Twice the number of things to go wrong?

That and a non zero probability of crash as the result of a
single failure. The number was worked out sometime around the end
or WWII, aircraft with higher power reserves might show different
results.

Of course, the biggest danger is loss of an engine on takeoff, but even a
single-engine *landing* can come to grief in various ways. We had a twin
fatally crash into our neighborhood from exactly that event.

One situation where twins are considered inherently safer is night IFR. The
classic advice for a forced landing at night is to maintain control of the
airplane; in particular maintain a safe airspeed. At 300 feet, turn on the
landing lights. If you don't like what you see, turn them off!

Vaughn