Originally Posted by
horizon flyer
Was on a flight from Minorca to Gatwick once and the captain went tech with food poisoning very early in the flight, so FO took over and a stewardess, who was learning to fly stepped in to read the check lists and help. The company rule was land at the closest and wait for a second pilot or new crew. With luck there was a flight behind with a spare captain on board, so we all landed at Madrid for the hand over. The thing was it took longer to divert in to Madrid than it would have taken to fly on to Gatwick, an airport the FO probably new better and was already setup to land at and could handle better as a single pilot. My thought was it should be the closest in time not distance. What are the thoughts on this?
The guy in the previous who flew the Atlantic landed LHR used that logic. LHR home base and best ATC there is. Nearest suitable airport apples in mAny cases such as engine failure. Cheers Y