Originally Posted by
Nuasea
There was a time when diverting to the nearest airfield was considered the thing to do.
If this engine out occcured at cruise, don't you need to factor in the costs of turning around to distance travelled and time in the air? An engine out during cruise is at speed so I imagine you can't just "turn around". I anticipate the "nearest airfield" in distance at the moment of failure may not be the "nearest airfield" in travel distance or time in the air. It may well be that SYD was the "nearest".