Assessment of the Engines-Out Flight Performance of a Commercial Jet

Introduction

In 1954, the Boeing Company introduced the 707, which was the first American jetliner. In response to the 707, the Douglas Company launched DC-8 as its first jetliner in 1957 (Commercial Aircraft of the World, 1960). Unlike today’s typical jetliners, both aircraft were powered by four turbojet engines. Indeed by 1965, around 87% of the U.S. commercial fleet consisted of three- or four-engine aircraft (Dolbeer, Wright, Weller, & Begier, 2013).

In late 1965, the Douglas Company entered its first twin-engine jetliner, DC-9, into service for short-haul and frequent flights (The DC-9 and the Deep Stall, 1965). Two years later, Boeing introduced the twin-engine 737, which later became the best-selling aircraft family in the history of commercial aviation (Kingsley-Jones, 2009). In 1974, the Airbus A300 entered service as the first twin-engine, wide-body jetliner (Airbus, 2013a). In 1989, the FAA allowed 180-minute extended operations (ETOPS) for the first time for a twin-engine jetliner. Since then, twin-engine jetliners have progressively become more prevalent on trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific routes (Boeing, 1998). As of today, more than 92% of the U.S. Commercial Fleet consists of twin-engine jetliners (Dolbeer, Wright, Weller, & Begier, 2013). In 2012, twin-engine jetliners transported around 96% of all 751 million passengers on U.S. air carriers (RITA, 2014).