Air Safety issues related to ETOPS extension

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SAFETY ISSUES RELATED TO ETOPS EXTENSION

THE PACIFIC OCEAN is different from anywhere else and there may be no choice in the event of a diversion...

In the harsh and demanding winter of the Northern Pacific region ground temperatures of -30 degrees F are not uncommon. Following a long diversion, cabin temperatures may decrease substantially because of equipment failure. These temperatures present a real challenge, especially for the elderly or infirmed who may be in summer clothes because they are traveling to or from a tropical destination. Most of the remote alternate airports have inadequate facilities for deplaning and...can offer passengers few, if any, accommodations which provide warm shelter, food, or medical care."

Airworthiness :

A very long flight time increases risk

A single engine can't be sufficient to generate warm cabine air over the North Pacific

More about airworthiness

	Operational environment :
	Alternate airports on the optimum winter track are not suitable
	Communications systems are not sufficient

"Where data is available, 75% of the accidents occured at airports where precision aids were not available or not utilized. [...] The chief circumstantial factors included absence of ground proximity warning systems (GPWS)". From Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) / Approach and landing Accident Reduction Task Force (ALAR)

Would you mean something like this ?..

More about operational environment

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