Emergency Diversion
How long does it take for a commercial jet to change its heading to the nearest suitable airfield, in the event of an emergency when time is of the essence?
For example, in ETOPS, an aircraft over the North Atlantic loses both engines. Can the pilot immediately alter course to the nearest airfield, or must they wait for ATS authorization?
Does the navigation computer constantly calculate the course and distance to suitable airfields and update this throughout the flight, so that the information is immediately available to the pilot?