Once again, could I ask the enthusiasts to refrain from their uninformed speculation. The flight crew will be aware if the engine has seized (catastrophic failure) or is still windmilling (plain vanilla failure or rundown). Sending someone back after dark to 'inspect' the failed no. 2 engine is about as useful as a poke in the arm with a sharp stick. Ambient light or whatever still won't let you see much of the no. 2 engine and waiting until daylight will still give you as limited a view!
The continued uninformed hand wringing about continued flight with 3 engines is also unnecessary as we have had plenty of replies by experienced B744 pilots who all state that an immediate landing at the nearest suitable airfield is not necessary just because of an engine shutdown. Also, the suggestions that the flight continue to the east coast USA shows a distinct lack of understanding of spherical geometry and why all those lovely inflight route maps have such long curvy paths up from the UK to the US west coast!
One thing is certain with this incident and that is the fact that the crew will have made safety their number one concern and any speculation otherwise is just uninformed scaremongering. To claim otherwise is an insult to all of us who consider ourselves to be professional pilots. BA are a legacy carrier and have a very good safety culture. Just because a journalist takes a few known facts and ads his or her own spin to it does not change the fact that this crew operated safely. The doomsayers who like to add fantasy scenarios that end with a ditching in the Atlantic only show their ignorance of 4 engined LROPS and would be better served if their confined their questions to the very well considered SOP's that have evolved over many years operations.
If the replies by some of the most experienced B744 pilots can't convince some of you that the operation of the flight on 3 engines was safe then you are either not a professional pilot flying heavy metal or just plain argumentative! The pax point of view is perfectly acceptable, however, if they were left uninformed for a period of time, that would be because the crew were taking their time to make sure that the flight was operating safely and would be able to continue to do so. The old adage; AVIATE, NAVIGATE, COMMUNICATE is still valid and it is precisely that order that the crew would have dealt with matters.