I agree the judgements are too harsh. Two people walked away and the plane is un-bent. A perfect result. Some small areas for improvement - if God forbid, she suffers another - but hey, a great end result.
Never forget, real engine failures are WAY harder than simulated ones. Please remember, double_barrel, the plane comes down quicker and has a lot less glide range than simulated ones with the engine at idle. In almost any position the prop stops, there is likely to be disrupted airflow to the wing, hence increased stall speed is a further issue. And that is likely to affect just 1 wing only, further increasing the potential danger. So obviously it is extremely wise to carry a few knots extra. I know this because I have taught 100s of simulated failures, and handled 3 for real. They are very, very different situations. And the pulse is usually much higher on a real one, knowing that you can't simply apply power and go around if it looks bad. She kept her own emotions and the plane apparently under perfect control. Well done to her!
Compared to the alternatives of panicking then stalling, hoping that you might make it downwind (as you suggested) then spinning in on the final 180 degree turn, undershooting and crashing, overshooting and crashing, bending the undercarriage, flipping it over, ground looping, or any other of the many, many ways to cock it up, her outcome was way better than any of them.
Incidentally, can you tell us all how much height a 172 with the engine stopped, with the prop disrupting flow to the wings, with full flap, flying say 5 knots faster than usual to compensate for increased stall speed will lose in a perfectly balanced and perfectly executed 180 degree turn like yours would be? And how much extra height would be lost if it is wasn't quite perfectly balanced and perfectly executed, like yours?
Perhaps you'd be good enough to send in a video of your first REAL engine-out landing, and we'll collectively comment on it, ridicule it, full it apart, and generally criticise it - assuming you survive it and aren't too embarrassed by any damage or injuries sustained so as to not want it in the public domain? No? I thought not!
But PLEASE, don't be tempted into trying any 180 degree turns at low level with the engine out, unless you really know what you're doing. Just take my word for that one. She clearly made some good decisions and choices when her engine failed.
Last edited by pilotmike; 5th Nov 2021 at 14:27.