Just before deleting the downloaded NTSB data off my hard drive, I just thought I'd run one more quick analysis for my own interest. I noticed yesterday that none of the fatal mechanical engine failures happened in IMC, so I was wondering if you looked only at the IMC forced landings (including both mechanical engine failure and fuel exhaustion) what the outcomes were. Of course, this doesn't tell you the degree of IMC-ness (ie cloud base & visibility) but I thought it might prove interesting anyway.
For the 7 forced landings the worst reported injury percentages came out as:
Fatal - 14%
Serious - 14%
Minor - 29%
None - 43%
Of course, that's only for 7 data points, so treat it with caution.
What's obvious, though, trawling through all that accident data, is that spontaneous engine failure is a relatively unlikely way to kill yourself, and it doesn't seem to matter very much whether you're in a twin or a single. Most of the time people just seem to make a bad decision, fly badly and hit stuff really hard.