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In May 1985, a Boeing 767 operated by Trans World Airlines became the first twin-engine airliner allowed to fly directly from St. Louis, Missouri, TWA’s hub, to Frankfurt, Germany, without altering its course to comply with an international requirement that it never be more than an hour’s flying time from an airport where it could land. The rule harkens back to the days of piston engines, which were so unreliable that at least four were considered necessary for a long flight over the ocean or hostile terrain. Even with four engines, airliners sometimes had to ditch—most notably the Boeing 377...

SEATTLE, May 14, 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] announced today that its 777 jetliner fleet has completed its 1 millionth flight under regulations for extended operations (ETOPS). Based on reported and projected 777 fleet data, Boeing estimated the 1 millionth 777 ETOPS flight occurred on May 11. "The 1 millionth 777 ETOPS flight is a result of our point-to-point product strategy to develop airplanes that fly people directly where they want to go," said Larry Loftis, vice president-general manager, 777 Program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "Early in its development we set out on a deliberate path to make...

New Rules Could Spell End For Four-Holers Is the FAA close to settling the ETOPS question? The Wall Street Journal says yes... and the ruling could favor twin-engine commercial aircraft like those now sold by Boeing. ETOPS officially stands for "extended twin engine operations." The gist of it is... the distance between emergency airfields for planes operating over oceans... deserts... or the North Pole. In 1984, the interval between possible landing points was 60 minutes for any twin-engined jet aircraft with an engine failure; that was doubled to 120 minutes in 1985. In 1987, it went up to 180...

WASHINGTON Federal Aviation Administration officials said on Monday that they were preparing to take strong action against British Airways, including a charge of "careless and reckless operation of an aircraft," because of the airline's decision to allow a Boeing 747 to fly from California to England with one engine inoperable. Under normal circumstances, the United States would not take action against British Airways because such issues would be handled by Britain. But senior U.S. aviation officials have become so concerned about the actions of the flight crew and its supervisors in London that they were preparing direct action. "We will...

LONDON (Reuters) - A British Airways passenger jet was forced to shut down one of its engines in mid-flight twice in one week after a replacement engine failed, the airline said Friday. In what BA described as a bizarre coincidence, the number two engine on a Boeing 747-400 plane flying from Singapore to London was shut down last month after the pilot received an oil pressure warning. The aircraft, carrying 356 passengers, arrived safely in London after flying for more than 10 hours on three of its four engines. The 747-400 is designed to fly safely on three engines. The...

The same British Airways 747 that flew from Los Angeles to England on only three of its four engines had a repeat occurrence on its next round trip: It lost an engine en route from Singapore to London, but the crew continued, flying 11 hours with a dead engine. British Airways said Flight 18 left Singapore with 356 passengers shortly after 11:35 p.m. local time on Friday and suffered an engine failure three-and-half hours into the flight. As in the Los Angeles incident, the crew communicated with the airline's operations center in London and decided to continue. About 11 hours...

The Federal Aviation Administration said it is questioning British officials about a British Airways jet that headed for London's Heathrow airport from Los Angeles with only three of its four engines in operation. After an engine failed shortly after takeoff, the flight crew decided to continue to London but had to make an emergency landing in Manchester, England.

British Airways jumbo jet lost power in an engine on takeoff from Los Angeles International Airport last month, but the pilot elected not to make an emergency landing for repairs, deciding instead to continue the 5,400-mile, transatlantic flight to London on the remaining three engines, officials said Monday. Because of unfavorable winds and inefficiencies resulting from the engine loss, the Boeing 747-400 burned more fuel than anticipated, and the pilot was forced to cut the nonstop flight short and land in Manchester, England, the airline said. The incident occurred three days after the European Union required European-based carriers to compensate...