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You are almost certainly correct. Getting rid of fuel to get down to max landing weight is a concern any time there's a problem this early in a long flight. An
by ubernostrum 9y ago
You are almost certainly correct. Getting rid of fuel to get down to max landing weight is a concern any time there's a problem this early in a long flight.
And needing to sometimes fly a bit before you can land safely is, well, the whole idea behind ETOPS. For those unfamiliar with the acronym (officially: "ExTended OPerationS", sarcastically: "Engines Turn Or Passengers Swim"), it refers to a certification process for twin-engine aircraft, to demonstrate that they can safely operate far from any airport, since their engine reliability is sufficient to allow extended periods of single-engine flight if and when necessary.
An ETOPS rating is given in minutes. For example, ETOPS-60 would mean the plane is approved to fly routes that might require up to 60 minutes of single-engine flying in order to reach a landing site after one engine fails. The Airbus A330 is approved (depending on the exact variant and configuration the airline buys) for either ETOPS-180 or ETOPS-240.
- nayuki 9y agoETOPS is covered in this easy-to-digest video by Wendover Productions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSxSgbNQi-g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSxSgbNQi-g
- ubernostrum 9y agoI haven't watched that one, but the ones I have watched have been... a bit spotty/incomplete about aviation stuff.
- uhnuhnuhn 9y agoYou can land safely above maximum landing weight, although it might cause damage to the tires or in extreme cases to the landing gears. Overweight landings are performed frequently[1] in emergencies, especially when an emergency occurs on or right after take-off. There may still have been other overriding reasons not to land at the closest airfield in this case. We just don't know enough yet. [1] http://avherald.com/h?search_term=overweight+landing&opt=0&dosearch=1&search.x=0&search.y=0 http://avherald.com/h?search_term=overweight+landing&opt=0&d...
- sshanky 9y agoETOPS originally meant "Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards". Just a way to get approval to fly planes with only two engines over large bodies of water, with rules specifying how far they can be from the nearest airport where they could land in case of an emergency.