Engine Failure-Continue or Reject? | Pilot Decision-Making Explained

When an Engine Fails, do we reject the Takeoff?, or Continue? Well…. It depends.


Delta 1661 suffered a No. 2 engine failure on the takeoff roll, the crew executed a textbook rejected takeoff. In this video, I break down why some pilots continue takeoff with failed engine, and why some reject or abort the takeoff and what every pilot—airline or GA—can learn from it.

We’ll cover:
What happens during a rejected takeoff (RTO), which crew member does what.
The difference between low-speed and high-speed abort regimes
V₁ speed — the “go/no-go” decision point
Why pilots don’t abort for things like a cargo-door indications, or some Master Cautions.
How Delta’s crew maintained control and handled the emergency and what was involved.
How we brief, monitor, and execute rejected takeoffs at part 121 airlines
How these same habits apply to general-aviation flying
This isn’t a crash analysis—it’s a look at professional decision-making, crew coordination, and training discipline in action.

0:00 Intro

1:25 V1 Takeoff Decision Speed (What is it)

1:53 High Speed vs Low Speed Regime

2:40 Would you Abort for a Cargo Door?

3:38 What V1 Looks like on the Pilot Flying Display

4:00 Whats a Crew Pre Departure Briefing?

5:58 Pilot Monitoring Responsibility on Take off

8:10 Spirit Evacuation Gone Wrong

9:31 How we get our V Speeds

11:03 My Experience with a Rejected T/O

12:14 "V1 Cuts" and how we Train for them