How Far Can Modern Twinjets Fly After A Single Engine Failure?

Summary The demise of quad-jet airliners has made twin-engine planes the new norm, offering up to six hours of flight time on one engine. The ETOPS rating for twin-engine aircraft has improved over time, with modern aircraft like the Airbus A350XWB achieving an ETOPS 370. In case of engine failure, commercial airliners can glide to safety due to skilful piloting, but cannot fly long distances without power.

Now that the quad-jets (namely the Airbus A340, Airbus A380, and Boeing 747) are out of production, they are slowly being replaced by twin-engine aircraft. So now, if an engine flames out, that means the aircraft loses 50% of its engines instead of 25%. There are no quad-engined airliners in production today (although, ironically enough, the introduction of ETOPS is credited with being one of the factors that killed the Airbus A380 ).

So, how far can an airliner fly with just one working engine? The good news is that all twin-engined aircraft must be certified to fly at least to some degree with one working engine. Modern long-haul twin-engined airliners can fly for up to six hours if an engine fails. ETOPS rating The Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards ( ETOPS ) are aviation rules for one-engine-inoperative flight conditions.

It is a certification that allows twin-engine aircraft to operate routes a certain distance away from the nearest airport available for an emergency landing. ETOPS rating for the aircraft type determines how far the aircraft .