The Extended-range Twin-engine Operations Performance Standards (ETOPS) ( / iː ˈ t ɒ p s / ) are safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for twin-engine commercial passenger aircraft operations. They are a safety measure intended to ensure that in the event of a single engine failure, an aircraft will still be able to reach a diversion airport using the remaining operational engine. This may be at a reduced speed and/or height, and usually applies to flights over water or remote lands, typically routes previously restricted to three- and four-engine aircraft.
59-553: Meekatharra is a town in the Mid West region of Western Australia . Meekatharra is a Yamatji word meaning "place of little water". At the 2016 census , Meekatharra had a population of 708, with 34.0% being of Aboriginal descent. Meekatharra is a major supply centre for the pastoral and mining area in the Murchison region of Western Australia . It is located 764 km (475 mi) north-east of Perth and may be reached by
118-572: A Lockheed L-1011 TriStar on the same route, prompting TWA to spend $ 2.6 million on each 767 they owned to retrofit them to ETOPS-120 specs. It was followed by Singapore Airlines in June with an Airbus A310 . In April 1986, Pan Am inaugurated transatlantic revenue service using A310s, and within five years Airbus ETOPS operators numbered more than 20. In 1988, the FAA amended the ETOPS regulation to allow
177-553: A "60-minute rule", restricting twin-engine aircraft to a 60-minute diversion area (at single-engine cruise speed). There was some additional flexibility beyond this limit with special approval. Meanwhile, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommended a 90-minute diversion time for all aircraft, which was adopted by many regulatory authorities and airlines outside the US. During
236-578: A 777-200ER. On May 28, 2014, the Boeing 787 received its ETOPS-330 certificate from the FAA, enabling LAN Airlines (now known as LATAM Airlines) to switch to the 787 from the A340 on their Santiago–Auckland–Sydney service a year later. Until the rule change in North America and Oceania, several commercial airline routes were still economically off-limits to twinjets because of ETOPS regulations, unless
295-441: A certain amount of single-engine flying time away from the nearest suitable airport. For example, if an aircraft is certified for 180 minutes, it is permitted to fly any route not more than 180 minutes' single-engine flying time to the nearest suitable airport. The following ratings are awarded under current regulations according to the capability of the airliner: However, ratings for ETOPS type approval are fewer. They are: Until
354-541: A guide for regional development to 2050. Due to its relative isolation from radio-frequency interference , the Mid West region was selected to host one of two primary radiotelescope locations of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project. When fully operational in 2024, this AU$ 2bn project will be 50 times more sensitive than any existing radio interferometer instrument; it will generate more data than
413-563: A refuelling stop at Gander, Newfoundland , in order to safely complete their journey. Aloha Airlines operated 180-minute ETOPS–approved Boeing 737-700 aircraft on nonstop routes between the Hawaiian Islands and the western U.S. and also Vancouver, Canada. The use of the smaller 737-700 enabled Aloha to serve routes that could not support larger jet aircraft with an example being the Honolulu – Burbank nonstop route. Prior to
472-409: A routing of Havana – Port au Prince – Ciudad Trujillo – San Juan, Puerto Rico . In 1948–52 New Zealand National Airways Corporation scheduled a DC-3 to fly from Apia (Western Samoa) to Aitutaki, a 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 -hour flight covering 685 airportless nautical miles between Tafuna (Pago Pago) and Aitutaki. In 1963 Polynesian Airlines started flying a Percival Prince Apia to Aitutaki; in 1964
531-510: Is mentioned in Kevin Bloody Wilson 's 1985 song Living Next Door To Alan . Mid West (Western Australia) The Mid West region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia . It is a sparsely populated region extending from the west coast of Western Australia , about 200 kilometres (120 mi) north and south of its administrative centre of Geraldton and inland to 450 kilometres (280 mi) east of Wiluna in
590-525: Is the regional hub, having road and railway facilities leading to the port. Formerly Geraldton was connected by a private railway to Perth, and the government railway system connected via Mullewa. In February 2021, the creation of five new conservation parks within the traditional lands of the Badimia people in the Mount Magnet area, covering over 114,000 ha (280,000 acres), was announced by
649-512: The Airbus A340 and A380. The North Atlantic Tracks are the most heavily used oceanic routes in the world, and are largely covered by ETOPS 120-minute rules, thereby removing the necessity of using 180-minute rules. However, North Atlantic diversion airports are subject to adverse weather conditions that affect their availability for use. As a result, the JAA and FAA have given 15% extension to
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#1732773029226708-582: The Boeing 747-8 and the terminology updated to EDTO (Extended Diversion Time Operations). While the earliest jet engines were sometimes unreliable, widespread use of later engines such as the Pratt & Whitney JT8D (e.g. McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and Boeing 737 ) led to major advances in reliability and safety. As jet engines started to deliver more power than piston engines while increasing reliability, aircraft whose size previously required four piston engines could now be built using only two jet engines. By
767-461: The Boeing 777 was rated ETOPS-120. European airlines operating the 777 had to demonstrate one year of trouble-free 120-minute ETOPS experience before obtaining 180-minute ETOPS for the 777. Effective February 15, 2007, the FAA ruled that US-registered twin-engine airplane operators can fly more than 180-minute ETOPS to the design limit of the aircraft. In November 2009, the Airbus A330 became
826-543: The COVID-19 pandemic in the early 2020s, Boeing and Airbus have since ended all production of the 747 and A380 , respectively (and both being the two largest commercial aircraft in the world). At the same time, the increasing prominence of new-generation ultra-long-range wide-body twinjets like the Boeing 777 and 787 , and Airbus A330 and A350 over the last decade has shifted the favor from quadjets to twinjets for international long-haul travel. The cornerstone of
885-470: The Federal Register in 2007: This final rule applies to air carrier (part 121), commuter, and on-demand (part 135) turbine powered multi-engine airplanes used in extended-range operations. However, all-cargo operations in airplanes with more than two engines of both part 121 and part 135 are exempted from the majority of this rule. Today's rule [January 16, 2007] establishes regulations governing
944-523: The Gibson Desert . It has a total area of 285,497 square kilometres (110,231 sq mi), and a permanent population of about 54,000 people, more than half of those in Geraldton. The western portion of this region was known earlier as "The Murchison" based on the river of the same name , and the similarly named Goldfield. The Mid West region has a diversified economy that varies with
1003-560: The Government of Western Australia , to be jointly managed between the traditional owners and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions ' Parks and Wildlife Service. The allocated land includes portions of two former pastoral leases , Lakeside and Burnerbinmah, as well as Crown land at Kirkalocka and White Wells. There are many significant Aboriginal sites of significance as well as other historic sites within
1062-664: The Great Northern Highway . It is a centre for sheep and cattle transshipment, initially by rail but now by road trains . It is also a regional home to the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the School of the Air. No viable horticultural industry exists in the area, although extensive but poor cattle stations in the Murchison and Gascoyne exist. Meekatharra is a former gold rush town. It seems
1121-1138: The Northern Railway railway network, apart from the isolated Marble Bar Railway branch out of Port Hedland. For a while a further branch line continued eastwards to Wiluna . The line was closed from Mullewa and pulled up in the 1970s. In the 2000s, new iron ore prospects may see the railway return. A 2,181-metre (7,156-foot) runway, now known as Meekatharra Airport , was built by the Americans during World War II . It serves as an important ETOPS diversion airport for inbound transcontinental flights to Australia. Skippers Aviation provide services to Perth on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Transwa operates coach services from Geraldton to Meekatharra on Mondays and Thursdays, returning Tuesdays and Fridays with connecting services to Perth. Integrity Coach Lines operates services between Perth and Port Hedland on Tuesdays, stopping in Meekatharra. The return service operates on Thursdays. Meekatharra
1180-513: The "Mid West Regional Blueprint"; an aspirational growth and development plan created by the Mid West Development Commission for the region. The Blueprint proposes strategies against five priority pillars to drive or reduce barriers to, regional growth and development in the Mid West. The Blueprint strategies are intended to focus on the region's key strengths and the identification of regional opportunities, providing
1239-547: The 120-minute rules to deal with such contingencies, resulting to ETOPS-138 (i.e. 138 minutes) to allow ETOPS flights with such airports closed. By the mid-2010s, virtually all North Atlantic plane routes were dominated by twin-engine aircraft. During the Cold War , routes between Europe and East Asia were prohibited from flying over Soviet Union or China since both airspaces were previously heavily military-controlled. Virtually all flights between Europe and East Asia flew over
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#17327730292261298-529: The 1950s, Pan Am twin-engine Convair 240s flew across the Caribbean from Barranquilla, Colombia to Kingston, Jamaica , Avensa Convair 340s flew from Maracaibo, Venezuela to Montego Bay, Jamaica , KLM Douglas DC-3s flew Curacao to Ciudad Trujillo while KLM Convairs flew Aruba to Kingston with Delta Air Lines operating Convair 340 flights nonstop between New Orleans and Havana as well as nonstop between Havana and Montego Bay and also on
1357-636: The 60-minute rule. Trijets and quadjets dominated international long-haul flights until the late 1980s. Airbus A300 twinjets, the first twin-engine wide-body aircraft, had been flying across the North Atlantic, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean under a 90-minute ICAO rule since 1976. When the FAA director J. Lynn Helms in 1980 was approached about the possibility of an exemption, his response
1416-578: The 737-700 operation, Aloha Airlines had operated 737-200 aircraft to various Pacific islands utilizing 120 minute ETOPS. Other new-generation ETOPS aircraft include the Airbus A220 series, the Embraer E-Jets series and the ATR 72 . By the mid-2010s, the widespread successes of ETOPS-reliant narrow-body aircraft have diminished the global market share of double-deck wide-body jets. At the onset of
1475-540: The A300 and A310 , and Boeing 767 . The success of ETOPS aircraft like A300 and Boeing 767 made the intercontinental trijets obsolete for passenger use, production of which was largely ended by the late 2000s with Boeing cancelling the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 program in the same period. The rules have also allowed American legacy carriers ( United Airlines and Delta Air Lines in particular) to use
1534-571: The Boeing 757 on "long and thin" transatlantic routes between their major hubs and secondary European cities that cannot generate the passenger demand to justify the use of a widebody airliner. The practice has been controversial, because although the 757 has adequate range to cross the Atlantic Ocean comfortably, strong headwinds caused by the jetstream over the winter months can result in westbound flights being declared "minimum fuel", forcing
1593-438: The ETOPS approach is the statistics showing that the turbine assembly of a modern jet engine is an inherently reliable component. Engine ancillaries, by contrast, have a lower reliability rating. Therefore, an ETOPS-certified engine may be built with duplicate sets of certain ancillaries in order to receive the required reliability rating. ETOPS approval is a two-step process. First, the airframe and engine combination must satisfy
1652-567: The Earth's entire surface, allowing point-to-point travel anywhere in the world except directly over the South Pole . Meanwhile, the first time that ETOPS-330 approval was given to a four-engine aircraft was in February 2015, to the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental . It is the only ETOPS-compliant aircraft allowed to run non-stop overflights over Antarctica with proper alternates , alongside
1711-559: The Paddy's Flat area was explored and mined by Western Mining Corporation and Dominion Mining Ltd in the 1990s. The climate is hot and dry. The annual rainfall is between 200 and 300 millimetres (8 and 12 in). The driest months of the year are August through to November. Meekatharra was an important location in the Western Australian Government Railways system – being the northernmost location in
1770-814: The SKA telescope to the MRO support facility in Geraldton and to the Pawsley Supercomputing Centre in Perth, Western Australia. Located at Yatharagga, 40 km from Mingenew (100 km SE of Geraldton), the WA Space Centre is an $ 8,000,000 114 ha satellite park owned and operated by Space Australia, a subsidiary company of the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC). The park is located in one of several Radio Quiet Zones in
1829-612: The U.S.) given the current aircraft range restrictions and, in the case of the early and mid-2020s, the reinstatement of selected routes by airlines between the Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere bypassing Russia due to its ongoing war with Ukraine . For decades, narrow-body aircraft like the Airbus A320 series, and the Boeing 737 series and 757 have continuously operated flights as approved for ETOPS operation, alongside earlier wide-body aircraft such as
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1888-790: The United States, often with a tank stop in Anchorage , Alaska . They flew near the North Pole with a very large distance to usable airports, for which only three- and four-engine wide-body aircraft were permitted for safety reasons by international aviation authorities. Some flights between Europe and Oceania still largely pass through stopovers in Asia (either in the Middle East or Southeast Asia ) or North America (either in Canada or
1947-563: The airline. Engines must have an in-flight shutdown (IFSD) rate better than 1 per 20,000 hours for ETOPS-120, 1 per 50,000 hours for ETOPS-180, and 1 per 100,000 hours for beyond ETOPS-180. Private jets are exempted from ETOPS by the FAA, but are subject to the ETOPS 120-minute rule in EASA's jurisdiction. Government-owned aircraft (including military) do not have to adhere to ETOPS regulations. There are different levels of ETOPS certification, each allowing aircraft to fly on routes that are
2006-430: The airplane-engine combination in the application. On December 12, 2011, Boeing received type-design approval from the FAA for up to 330-minute extended operations for its Boeing 777 series, all equipped with GE engines, and with Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney engines expected to follow. The first ETOPS-330 flight took place on December 1, 2015, with Air New Zealand connecting Auckland to Buenos Aires on
2065-467: The area and St Barbara sold out to a company known as Mercator Gold in October 2005. Mercator Gold then conducted an extensive drilling programme and re-opened the mill, commencing production in early October 2007. This mining phase, however, was short-lived, with Mercator going into administration in October 2008 and closing the mine. A substantial gold deposit which lies just south of the townsite called
2124-421: The basic ETOPS requirements during its type certification . This is called "ETOPS type approval". Such tests may include shutting down an engine and flying the remaining engine during the complete diversion time. Often such tests are performed in the middle of the ocean. It must be demonstrated that, during the diversion flight, the flight crew is not unduly burdened by extra workload due to the lost engine and that
2183-561: The current global Internet traffic and be capable of surveying the sky more than ten thousand to a million times faster than what is possible today. The radiotelescope antennae and the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) are located near Boolardy , Western Australia, approximately 315 km northeast of Geraldton, with logistics and science support provided by CSIRO from their facilities in Geraldton. High-capacity optical fibre cables connect
2242-404: The data collected, the reliability of the particular airframe-engine combination is measured and statistics published. The figures must be within limits of type certifications. Of course, the figures required for ETOPS-180 will always be more stringent than ETOPS-120. Unsatisfactory figures would lead to a downgrade or, worse, suspension of ETOPS capabilities either for the type certificate holder or
2301-577: The design, operation and maintenance of certain airplanes operated on flights that fly long distances from an adequate airport. This final rule codifies current FAA policy, industry best practices and recommendations, as well as international standards designed to ensure long-range flights will continue to operate safely." and Several commenters … recommended use of the acronym "LROPS"—meaning 'Long Range Operations'—for three- and four-engine ETOPS, to avoid confusion, particularly for those operations beyond 180 minutes' diversion time. The FAA has decided to use
2360-416: The extension to a 180-minute diversion period, subject to stringent technical and operational qualifications. ETOPS-180 and ETOPS-207 cover about 95% of the Earth. The first such flight was conducted in 1989. This set of regulations was subsequently adopted by the JAA, ICAO, and other regulatory bodies. The original 1985 regulations allowed an airliner to have ETOPS-120 rating on entry into service. ETOPS-180
2419-578: The first aircraft to receive ETOPS-240 approval, which has since been offered by Airbus as an option. ETOPS-240 and beyond are now permitted on a case-by-case basis, with regulatory bodies in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand adopting said regulatory extension. Authority is only granted to operators of two-engine airplanes between specific city pairs. The certificate holder must have been operating at 180-minute or greater ETOPS authority for at least 24 consecutive months, of which at least 12 consecutive months must be at 240-minute ETOPS authority with
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2478-465: The first settlement at Meekatharra occurred in 1894 and that, in May 1896, after the prospectors Meehan, Porter and Soich discovered gold, miners moved to the new settlement from the other East Murchison fields and mining grew rapidly in scale and sophistication. The Peak Hill mining town was founded in 1892 approximately 100 km up the road during this initial gold rush. Success in the Meekatharra field
2537-468: The flight was a DC-3 from Faleolo (Upolu) to Aitutaki, a distance of 768 nautical miles (1,422 km; 884 mi). More recently, the January 1979 OAG showed a weekly Polynesian Airlines HS748 from Niue to Rarotonga, 585 nmi (1,083 km; 673 mi) with no airport. In 2017 ICAO issued Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS) for ETOPS, and ETOPS were extended to four-engine aircraft like
2596-410: The geography and climate. Near the coast, annual rainfall of between 400 and 500 millimetres (16 and 20 in) allows intensive agriculture. Further inland, annual rainfall decreases to less than 250 millimetres (10 in), and here the economy is dominated by mining of iron ore, gold, nickel and other mineral resources. Geraldton is an important hub for the tourism industry. The Mid West also has
2655-607: The highest value fishing industry in Western Australia, with Geraldton the hub of the Western Rock Lobster industry. Western Rock Lobster netted almost $ 234.5 million in revenue for WA in the 2012–13 financial year, making it Australia's most valuable single-species wild capture fishery. Gross Regional Product for the Mid West in 2013 was AU$ 6,000,000,000 (AU$ 6bn). On 25 August 2015 The Hon. Terry Redman , MLA, Minister for Regional Development, launched
2714-586: The late 1960s, most large civil airliners were jet-powered, relegating the piston engine to roles such as cargo flights. With the JT8D reliably powering the three-engine Boeing 727 , the 60-minute rule was waived in 1964 for three-engine aircraft, which in turn opened the way for the development of wide-body , intercontinental trijets such as the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar and McDonnell Douglas DC-10 . By then, only twin-engine jets were restricted by
2773-460: The mid-1980s, the term EROPS (extended range operations) was used before being superseded by ETOPS usage. In 1997, when Boeing proposed to extend ETOPS authority for twins to beyond 180 minutes, Airbus proposed to replace ETOPS by a newer system, referred to as Long Range Operational Performance Standards (LROPS), which would affect all civil airliners, not just those with a twin-engine configuration with more than 180 minutes ETOPS. The FAA stated in
2832-543: The new parks. ETOPS In 1936, the predecessor to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the U.S. Bureau of Air Commerce , restricted commercial operations within United States airspace to within 100 miles (160 km) of an adequate airport. For many aircraft of that era this meant about 60 minutes with one engine inoperative. In 1953, with piston engine reliability and aircraft performance improved, U.S. authorities introduced
2891-510: The normal engineering and flight procedures. Pilots and engineering staff must be qualified and trained for ETOPS. An airline with extensive experience operating long-distance flights may be awarded ETOPS operational approval immediately, while others may need to demonstrate ability through a series of ETOPS proving flights. Regulators closely watch the ETOPS performance of both type certificate holders and their affiliated airlines. Any technical incidents during an ETOPS flight must be recorded. From
2950-503: The probability of the remaining engine failing is extremely remote. For example, if an aircraft is rated for ETOPS-180, it means that it is able to fly with full load and just one engine for three hours. Second, an operator who conducts ETOPS flights must satisfy their own country's aviation regulators about their ability to conduct ETOPS flights. This is called "ETOPS operational certification" and involves compliance with additional special engineering and flight crew procedures in addition to
3009-404: The railway arrived in Meekatharra in 1910, the town became the railhead at the end of the route. In many ways the railway ensured the town's survival. In 1910 it took the first shipment of wool out of the area and it continued to serve the local pastoral interests until it was closed down in 1978. The town and surrounding stations were isolated by flood waters in 1926 resulting in provisions in
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#17327730292263068-645: The region, making it an ideal location for radioastronomy. The SSC is the largest commercial operator of satellite tracking ground station facilities. The facilities include compounds operated by NASA , The European Space Agency , CSIRO , MOBLAS and VLBI, amongst others. The local government areas in the Mid West region are Carnamah , Chapman Valley , Coorow , Cue , Greater Geraldton , Irwin , Meekatharra , Mingenew , Morawa , Mount Magnet , Murchison , Northampton , Perenjori , Sandstone , Three Springs and Yalgoo . In 1 June 2021 Shire of Wiluna officially joined Goldfields-Esperance region. Geraldton
3127-627: The route was specifically conducted as indivertible. There were routes traversing the Southern hemisphere, e.g., South Pacific (e.g., Sydney – Santiago , one of the longest over-the-sea distances flown by a commercial airline), South Atlantic (e.g., Johannesburg – São Paulo ), Southern Indian Ocean (e.g., Perth – Johannesburg ), and Antarctica . Before the introduction of the Airbus A350XWB in 2014, regulations in North America and Europe permitted up to 180-minute ETOPS at entry. The A350 XWB
3186-491: The single term, 'extended operations,' or ETOPS, for all affected operations regardless of the number of engines on the airplane." Prior to 2007, the FAA used the term for Extended Range Operation with Two-Engine Airplanes but the meaning was changed when regulations were broadened to include aircraft with more than two engines. In 2017 ICAO amendment 36 to Part I of Annex 6 of the Chicago Convention replaced
3245-413: The town running low after supplies were unable to get through after a week. From 1927 until 1931, a railway line operated from Meekatharra to the manganese mine at Horseshoe, some 130 kilometres (80 miles) distant. Meekatharra underwent a significant gold rush during the mining boom of the 1980s, with mining continuing until May 2004 at St Barbara Mines's Bluebird Gold Mine . Exploration restarted in
3304-438: Was "It'll be a cold day in hell before I let twins fly long haul, overwater routes." The Boeing 767-200ER entered service in 1984. In 1985, the FAA increased the ETOPS to 120 minutes at the single-engine cruise speed. Trans World Airlines operated the first 120-minute ETOPS (ETOPS-120) service on February 1, 1985, with a Boeing 767 -200 from Boston to Paris. The 767 burned 7,000 lb (3.2 t) less fuel per hour than
3363-436: Was first to receive an ETOPS-370 prior to entry into service by European authorities, enabling economical nonstop routes between Europe and Oceania (and thereby bypassing historical stopovers across Asia and North America ) by the late 2010s and early 2020s. This includes the high-demand London–Sydney route , in the latest development for ultra long-haul flights. The A350 XWB's current ETOPS certification covers 99.7% of
3422-549: Was only possible after one year of trouble-free 120-minute ETOPS experience. In 1990 Boeing convinced the FAA that it could deliver an airliner with ETOPS-180 on its entry into service. This process was called Early ETOPS. The Boeing 777 was the first aircraft to be introduced with an ETOPS rating of 180 minutes. In the 1990s, the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) demurred; on its entry into service in Europe,
3481-611: Was short-lived. It was only because a second gold discovery occurred in 1899 that the town survived. In 1901 the Meekatharra State Battery began operation and by Christmas Day 1903 the township had been officially gazetted. In 1906 Alfred Wernam Canning was appointed to develop a stock route from the East Kimberley to the Murchison. The stock route, comprising 54 wells, was completed in 1908 and, when
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