MRJT Additional Procedures — Page 114, Lesson 107

I want to walk you through the ETOPS additional procedures. ETOPS stands for Extended-range Twin-engine Operations, and these are the special rules that apply when a twin-engine aeroplane flies routes where it might be more than a certain time away from a suitable diversion airport. Let's start with the communication and navigation requirements. Before an aeroplane can be dispatched on an ETOPS flight, three conditions must be satisfied. First, communication facilities must be available to provide reliable two-way voice communications between the aeroplane and the appropriate air traffic control unit. This must work under all expected conditions of propagation at the normal one-engine-inoperative cruise altitudes. So we're talking about the radio signals being strong enough to reach ATC even if one engine has failed and we're flying at a lower cruise altitude. And this communication must cover the planned route of flight, as well as the routes to any suitable alternate that would be used in the event of a diversion. Second, non-visual ground navigation aids must be available and located so that they provide the navigation accuracy required over the planned route and flight altitude. This also applies to the routes to any alternate and the altitudes to be used in the event of diversion for whatever reason. The key point here is that we take into account the navigation equipment actually installed in the aeroplane — we're not assuming perfect equipment; we're checking that what we have on board can work with what's on the ground to give us the accuracy we need. Third, approved visual and non-visual aids must be available at the specified alternates for the authorized types of approaches and operating minima. So the diversion airports themselves need to have the right equipment — both visual aids like approach lighting and non-visual aids like instrument landing systems — that are approved for the approaches we plan to fly and the weather minima we're allowed to use. Now let's move to the ETOPS fuel policy pre-flight requirements. The operator must ensure that the pre-flight calculation of usable fuel includes several components. Let me walk through each one. First is taxi fuel — the fuel used to start engines and taxi from the stand to the runway. Second is trip fuel — the fuel required to fly from departure to destination along the planned route. Then we have reserve fuel, which itself consists of several parts. Contingency fuel is the first part — this covers unforeseen variations in the planned flight, like stronger headwinds or routing changes. Next is alternate fuel, if a destination alternate is required — that's the fuel to fly from the destination to an alternate airport and complete an approach and landing there. Then we have final reserve fuel. For aeroplanes with turbine power units — that means jet engines — this is defined as fuel to fly for 30 minutes at holding speed at 1500 feet above aerodrome elevation in standard conditions. So 1500 feet, or 450 metres, above the airport elevation, using standard atmospheric conditions, holding at the appropriate speed for that configuration. After that comes additional fuel, if required by the type of operation — and ETOPS is specifically mentioned here as an example of when additional fuel would be required. Finally, there's extra fuel if required by the commander. The commander has the authority to add extra fuel beyond what the regulations require, based on their assessment of the specific flight. So to summarise the fuel calculation: taxi fuel, trip fuel, then reserve fuel broken into contingency, alternate, final reserve, additional fuel for ETOPS, and any extra fuel the commander decides is necessary. Every one of these components must be included in the pre-flight calculation for an ETOPS flight.