Am I reading too many NTSB reports???

[netsurfr]

So here's the deal. I'm a relatively newer pilot having gotten my PPL in 2012 and having 250 hours since. I bought my first plane (very nicely equipped 79 Dakota) last August and enjoying it very much and have now started doing family trips where I take my wife & 5 year old. Lately I've been seeing/reading all the accident threads/reports here & in other aviation forums and I'm getting a bit freaked out by how many accidents are occurring to what seems to be very good/experienced pilots in, what I'm assuming, are well maintained planes to the point that I'm now wondering if I should have gone w/ something like a Cirrus SR20 to have 4, 4 point harnesses w/ airbags and a chute for the scenario where I could loose my single engine at the wrong place/time which seems to be happening frequently lately.

That being said... I tell myself that I'm only hearing/reading about the accidents and therefore getting a biased look and that according to stats loosing an engine is a very low probability event but I still can't understand why it happens.

So I guess what I'm asking is.... Do I need to stop reading & worrying about loosing my engine at the wrong time w/ my wife & kid onboard?

Also, what typically turns out to be the cause of these sudden engine failures in what would otherwise be a well maintained plane?

 

[jruhnke]

 

[GM.]

 

[flyguydon]

 

[msires]

 

[raymos]

 

[voretaq7]

 

[Flying_Monkey]

 

[netsurfr]

 

[sourdough44]