Nope, sorry, you've got me there Danny (but then, I'm not a "real" pilot). Are you suggesting that the BA268 would have routed from LAX to LHR in a westerly direction, across the pacific, arriving on the east coast of the UK, nearer to LHR than MAN? I thought it would have routed in an easterly direction, across the atlantic (prsumably that's why it's trans-atlantic not trans-pacific), arriving on the west coast of the UK, nearer to MAN that LHR.
To answer on Danny's behalf:
No, they wouldn't carry on westwards but they
would normally go quite a bit
north, then come south again.
If you have a globe of the world handy, take a look at the relative positions of California and the UK and trace the most direct route over the surface - a Great Circle. You will notice the peak latitude it reaches is higher than that of the departure or destination airfield.
These sort of routes are varied because of wind components, and generally go to higher latitudes Westbound to avoid the worst of the jetstreams and return lower down to get the benefit of same.
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Just because the original flight plan was probably a route well away from the likes of Boston or New York is there anything to prevent the Captain choosing to make such a city the destination?
No, but why would he want to? The passengers would like to go to LHR not JFK. If it's OK to fly for 4hrs across the USA to BOS, then why stop there? If you replan to overfly the NY area on the way back from LA it is extremely unlikely you will have enough fuel left for an Atlantic crossing, due to the extra distance involved, so you are committing yourself to the mainland USA.
Let us also consider if the engine had failed 60 seconds or so earlier ie before V1. If it had done the take off will have been abandoned, aircraft to hangar, crew & pax to hotel. But because they got 100ft of the ground before the failure they can continue 5000nm to London. And that is legal and safe, if it seems on the face of it a little odd.
Yes, below V1 you stop, above V1 you go.
Legal and safe, that's how the aeroplane is certified and operated.
I still think most people are missing the point - the passengers pay to be on the plane and surely their (perceived) safety and contentment must be a priority for airlines & pilots.
I agree with everthing in that paragraph except for the 'perceived' bit. Like a surgeon performing an operation or a lawyer in court defending a client, we are relied on as
professional pilots to use our
professional skills to do the utmost for those entrusted to our care. This does not often involve taking ad-hoc input from people with no knowledge or experience in the field.
Not to mention that our own necks are on the line just as much as our passengers and most of us have homes and families to come back to as well, so sheer self-preservation kicks in quite early, I can tell you...