I think the point Pace is making is that a partial failure can be worse, if you think the engine is recovering and take actions accordingly, only for it to then conk out completely.
A case in point was a bad crash at Biggin Hill back in '05 or '06 involving a Tomahawk, where the engine quit after takeoff on runway 21. 21 faces towards fields but the highly experienced instructor turned back towards the field and stalled/crashed with fatal consequences. From memory the accident report said witnesses had heard the engine note pick up, so perhaps a partial recovery of the engine lulled him into a false sense of security, and prompted him to try and get back to the field.
If it had just failed outright, he'd probably have committed to landing in the open fields ahead - and in all likelyhood would have made it. Obviously speculation but seems a likely scenario given the experience of the guy involved.
Last edited by taxistaxing; 30th November 2012 at 15:48.