Allows Longer-Range Flights Over Oceans, Desert

Aero-News received word Thursday the 114-passenger Embraer 190 twin jet has received its first ETOPS approval from the FAA. The aircraft obtained the same rating from ANAC (Agência Nacional da Aviação Civil), the Brazilian aviation authority, two weeks ago.

This approval enables the EMB-190 to fly routes that have a diversion airport up to 75 minutes from the flight path.

ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operations) is an acronym for an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rule. In 1953, the FAA introduced the "60-minute rule" for two-engine aircraft, establishing that the flight paths of these planes could not be farther than 60 minutes' flying time from an adequate airport with one engine inoperative. With the advent of jet aircraft, the rule has been extended to 75, 120, 180 minutes, and beyond, supported by the greater reliability of jets over propeller-driven aircraft.

The 75-minute ETOPS rating allows the Embraer 190 to fly long-distance routes over water or desert. It broadens the operations which can be performed, especially in regions like Southeast Asia or Australia. Embraer is also working on the 120-minute ETOPS approval, which should be available for customers in the beginning of 2008.

"We are particularly proud of this certification, because it demonstrates the wide capability envelope of the E-Jets to operate in different environments," said Antonio Campello, Embraer’s Vice-President, Programs – Airline Market. "The E-Jets have been ordered by airlines on six continents, and are being operated under both the severe winter conditions of Canada and Finland and the high temperatures of Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Soon, they will also be operating under the stringent rules of the 120-minute ETOPS rating."

The EMB-190 is one member of a family of four E-Jets, a new generation of aircraft optimized for the 70 to 120-seat capacity segment. As of March 31, 2007, Embraer had firm orders for 630 E-Jets, with an additional 558 options, totaling 1,188 orders from 32 customers worldwide.

FMI: www.embraer.com