Definition
The rate of climb a multi-engine airplane can achieve when one engine has failed and the remaining engine (or engines) is producing maximum available power, with the airplane configured for best single-engine climb (gear up, flaps retracted, inoperative propeller feathered, and flown at the appropriate single-engine climb speed).
Plain English
How well the airplane can still climb after one engine quits, when the pilot has set everything up correctly to get the most climb out of what's left.
Context Anchor
You see this term in multiengine V-speed discussions, takeoff planning, and engine-failure training.
Why Pilots Care
Determines whether the aircraft can clear obstacles and reach a safe altitude after an engine failure during or shortly after takeoff.
Grounding Statement
Picture a heavily loaded twin-engine airplane just after takeoff on a hot day: if one engine quits, the question is whether the airplane can still climb, barely hold altitude, or must descend.
Intuition Check
Do not assume that having two engines means the airplane will climb well after one engine fails. With one engine not working, climb performance can be very limited and depends on the exact conditions.
Example Sentence 1
Before departing from the high-elevation airport on a hot day, the pilot checked the engine-inoperative climb performance and realized the airplane could barely maintain altitude on one engine.
Example Sentence 2
Higher density altitude reduced the engine-inoperative climb performance, requiring a lighter takeoff weight.