US reg is up to 50nm from shore, only "floatation" is required. More than 50nm you must have vests and rafts. There's a waypoint, LAIRE, placed so that if you're going KSEA-PANC you can go direct LAIRE direct ANC or direct LAIRE direct YVR and stay within 50nm of the shore on a 3 hour leg with one waypoint. I can certainly glide 50 miles from altitude.
Thus we have to place a value on human life versus the cost of carrying, supplying, and maintaining the lifejackets. That's impossible,
The FAA does this all the time. I can't recall what they price a human life at but I remember a number around 2.5 million. The reason the revised US flight and duty time regulations don't cover cargo operations is the FAA it was cheaper to have one cargo aircraft crash every ten years than to require the additional crew members.