Originally Posted by
BackPacker
(And to put a bit of perspective to the debate, and how dependent it is on airplane capabilities and circumstances: In gliding we fly a full (although tight) circuit when the winch cable breaks at 300' or above. Yes, you read that correctly. A full circuit, with four 90 degree turns, to a normal landing in the normal landing area next to the take-off area, from 300 feet. But a winch launch cable break happens by definition *above* the airfield, not beyond the threshold, and any reasonably modern glider will easily beat a 1:30 glide angle.)
To a powered pilot 300 feet sounds incredibly low, but to put this in perspective to fly the pattern described above with the 4 turns and a landing back at the point of takeoff would require starting at least 1500 feet AGL if you were flying your average Cessna or Piper, and which is hardly an EFATO in the context of this thread.