ETOPS
I am completely committed to ETOPS. It is a boon to the industry and displays elegant solutions to a number of old problems. I fear however, that the responsibles have lost sight of what makes ETOPS unique. A lofty commitment to zero failure and a disciplined and unforgiving posture toward engineering base line.
On the one hand, twins are vulnerable to OEI always, but eliminating mere redundancy involves a discipline of separation of systems. At some point in the concept, duplication of flight critical systems is inevitable. I don't think we're there yet, BA038 notwithstanding. 038 could have been avoided in a non ETOPS way, because what befell the flight wasn't a lack of redundancy, but a process that affects all formats, ICE. By that I mean the a/c was lacking in what should have been a priori engineering vis a vis ICE and its hazards.
The research thus far hasn't indicted ETOPS in any way. What is unfolding in front of the community is a lowering of standards, and a concomitant inconsistency of applying those standards. To save a penny, the authority is loosening its credibility by exposing a make do philosophy to the Public, rather than a no tolerance profile re; Safety itself. Who's in charge here.