Originally Posted by
Hydro Junkie
A damaged engine will be unbalanced and will begin to self-destruct in short order. Before that happens, the pilot had better be looking for someplace to put down or he will be in serious trouble. You also have to consider the loss of primary hydraulics, electrical power as well as fuel if there is fuel line damage. You can't just shut down the fuel pumps and, if there is damage to the lines, the fuel will dump much faster than a remaining engine will burn fuel off so now you're looking at an unbalanced aircraft as well as the fuel will normally be burned out of the wing the engine is mounted on first, then the the centerline tank due to the way the pumps are made and piped to the engines
BS any modern airline can fly all day long on one engine. Also the newer engines are designed to take 8 pound birds and keep running. Nt saying it will be perfectly smooth, but will still produce useable power. Most drones weigh much less than 8 pounds. But regardless for the old planes often used for firefighting your point is valid. But also valid for bird strikes. I bet there were a lot more birds around than the several drones sighted, and the birds are less likely to get out of the way!