Atlas Air 747-8 inflight engine fire

[100Series]

Many years ago,ex SIN, I was PF and ATC liasion on our 747 while my gallant Captain and Engineer worked out how to get us down without the inboard flaps falling off, making the A/C unflyable.
The radar controller obviously had his form to fill in and all went well till he asked our edurance.
"At this time 6 hours 30 minutes but as we are dumping, in 30 minutes it will be 1 hour!"
It all went a bit quiet after that.

[jumpseater]

Originally Posted by Maninthebar

So that implies that the question is not around how much firefighting there might be, but how long before landing MUST happen, which makes sense.

Correct. One of the first things ATC are considering is which is the nearest available airfield, and which is the nearest suitable airfield, not always the same thing and which airfields to potentially offer as divert options. Another factor is if the aircraft then has a radio failure, they have a rough idea of how long it can remain airborne, which airfields it may divert to.