Experienced pilots know the advantage of having a "spare" engine sitting out on the wing - as in a twin engine aircraft in lieu of a single "up-front" - just in case one engine fails - a calming visual sensation for most fliers and aviators
 

Supporters of the single-engine concept argue that a twin-engine aircraft has more than twice the chance of an engine failure - but that debate seems to fall on deaf-ears of most twin pilots and their passengers
 

The Two "just-in-case" Hypothesis proponents need to bear in mind the landing part as well as flying

In northern Kenya recently a Hawker-Siddeley 748 freighter landed at Lokichokio airport without the support of the undercarriage - it was left stranded on the active runway
 
A short time later a Hercules L-100 freighter reported inbound and the tower controllers instructed the aircraft to go land somewhere else
 
Not having a spare fuel tank on the wing the pilot advised the tower that he had insufficient fuel to go to an alternate aerodrome and that he would have to land on the "unused" portion of the runway - most wheels-up landings use very little of the tarmac - the 'braking' effect is good to excellent

Enter Murphy (as in Law)
Pilots over time have come expect that anything that can go wrong will go wrong especially if it's associated with flying - the decision by the Herc captain to land on the unused portion of the runway turned out to be an absolute disaster
 
The L-100 had an extremely heavy landing that bent the airframe - it became uncontrollable and finished up running into debris left on the runway by the previous wheels-up

 
There were no injuries to the air crew or ground personnel - the same cannot be said about the two 'heavies' involved - both were extensively damaged
 
The airport remained closed for two days while the wreckage was removed by ground staff
 

A "spare" serviceable airport nearby would have resolved the initial problem for all concerned!

It was back 1999 when the new Cirrus Aircraft company started production with a four seat SR20 model that was widely accepted by the aviation community and over time that machine evolved into the more powerful SR22 model
 
By 2003 Cirrus had delivered over 1,000 of their "ballistic parachute" machines and during that period they were proven to be safer than any other previously manufactured single engine light aircraft

Company co-founder and Executive Vice-President Dale Klapmeier reports that the new technology introduced into the Cirrus is making the General Aviation industry a whole lot safer
 
"..other manufacturers are following our lead and that's a win-win for everybody"
 
Previous Reports in 2000 HERE and HERE