Originally Posted by
spornrad
Training:
Glider pilots are drilled to do off field landings. Including spot full stall landing at min speed, slipping the plane (descending steeply without gaining speed), selecting fields (brown over green etc.), watching for the green islands indicative of power line masts, to name a few. Typical powered pilots are often lacking these skills.
In my view that is the main point. If you are not trained and accustomed to always judging any ground you see in terms of ability to land on it or not, it is a huge missing puzzle piece. In my previous gliding club they had an engine failure at fairly low altitude on a refueling flight with their tow plane (no winch launches possible on their field, therefore towing is the only way). Full fuel load, not much time to check, low wing tricycle gear plane, Robin DR-300. They were able to find such a good landing spot that the engine could be swapped on the same field and the plane could be flown out of there after the swap was done (with proper authorization of course).
If one doesn’t have that skillset and the option of a BRS, of course it is the best option to pull it.