ETOPS Explained- twin engine planes over long oceans.
ETOPS Explained A note to the reader: I do not own any images that are referred to in this article. All sources are mentioned. As an aviation enthusiast, I have written this article from my point of view on ETOPS. Some of the readers might not be interested, but as you read on, I guarantee you, it will be. This article is completely based on the ETOPS issued by the FAA in the early 60’s in the United States of America . “It’ll be a cold day in hell before I let twins fly long-haul over-water routes.” Those were the words of Lynn Helms—administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration during the Reagan administration. -Lynn Helms (Source: Wikipedia) At the time, no commercial airplane with two engines was allowed to fly anywhere farther than 60 minutes from a diversion airport. The belief was that, if one engine failed, the other could only safely fly the plane for about an hour, but this rule s...