Duck Pilot, that is indeed a tragedy
However I cannot agree with your earlier comment "EFATO and a turn back will always end up in death" as I have personal knowledge of successful returns.
In these returns the engine failures were of a partial nature. One involved completely losing a pot in a 172 resulting in, I suggest, ~60-70% power (assuming some mechanical drag from the useless piston/cylinder). It was a warm but not hot day, the a/c was two up, and the pilot completed a successful reversal at about 300-400 ft and landed back on the 2000' runway with a moderate tail wind.
There are also published examples of successful returns with less, or no, engine power.
For the avoidance of doubt this post absolutely isn't about advocating a return to the field following complete engine failure at low altitude; I expect we all know what we should do in that case. What I am really interested in, as earlier alluded, is the decision making process when you have
partial power, and the training (or lack of it) around this process along with the subsequent path to the ground. It's my view that this is a worthwhile discussion to have, and one that has the potential to save lives.
To that end I've described a known successful return at something a little less than 3/4 power on a standard day with a moderately laden aircraft. The pilot made the decision to return based on their experience and factors of the time, but what would that decision have been if there was only, say, 50% power, or the aircraft was heavily loaded? Perhaps more important is what the outcome might have been for a pilot with less experience and no training for such events? Clearly each situation will be different, and I don't believe you could have a hard 'rule' on what to do, but it is something that could receive more attention and which is trainable to some degree.
When I say trainable, here's some possible examples:
- try reducing power to see at what point the a/c can no longer maintain altitude
- in a climb reduce power to (say) 60% and complete a 180deg turn and note the altitude loss/control-ability
- discuss the various factors that might affect such a decision and, if possible, trial these
- trial landing (obviously where safely possible) with a tail wind and note/discuss the results vis-à-vis into wind approach/landing
I don't claim any particular knowledge in this regard, although I have carried out all of the above (at an appropriate height!), so perhaps those who are in a training role or have much more experience than me may be able to offer comment as to whether there is merit in this, or not?
FP.