Originally Posted by
FlightDetent
Eeehh... everybody wished. IRL the single highest priority is being compliant. Not that different from what happens elsewhere, but yes they do go to extremes.
Your post (part not quoted) suggest the PIC may have had a decisive say, and that's a very odd vibe.
My take will be hugely unpopular, saying once you get to the marrow (having clicked the performance boxes) the decision tips around the legality of the AFM non-compliance.
If you feel time pressure, do it.
If you feel it is useless to wait, get it approved and then do it.
Wargaming (skipping the obvious):
Engine fail - yes.
Operational Re-routing - no.
Failure affecting certified state (a.k.a. 'non-MEL) - most likely yes.
====== This is a good one:
After successfuly fighting a power bank fire that turned not easy to dispose of, the remaining extinguishers are below dispatch limit as well as the number of CC PBEs left unused.
Pushing for the trans-pacific sector has become untenable, and you are headed for Guam that is 60 minutes away.
There are no injuries or health complications among anyone on board, but the passanger mood is very awkward. Clearly, the 2 charred seats will get a huge exposure once the aircraft lands.
OPS cannot be reached.
The predictions from FMS show that upon arriving overhead Guam the airplane is overweight by 6x final reserve fuel mass (i.e. 1 hr with gear down).
(A) The quickest landing can be achieved by flying to Guam at high ETOPS Mach, and make an immediate overweight landing. Getting ugly dirty on the descent and approach (without a slow speed technique, however) will reduce the overweight from 6x FRSF_weight to 3x FRSF_weight, no less.
(B, C, D) middle options, compromises. Sacrifice something at the expense of half-meeting multiple targets)
(E) Using high-power Mach, the origin airport which is your operating base can be reached. Located 1 hour beyond Guam, the time to reach it is precisely equivalent to time required for a landing below MLW at Guam. Other words, if MLW is to be observed, the passanger's origin and your home base can be reached without a time penalty.
Let the difference between the quickest OVWT at Guam and the quickest MLW be 1 hour. You ARE turning back with 1 hr to the earliest landing, overweight.
======= show of hands? ====
Maybe I’m missing the gotcha, but return to origin seems an obvious choice to me.