Can the passenger doors be opened in flight?
a. As regard to your first question, I was discussing a topic on extended twin engine operations (ETOPS), peculiar to any two-engine airplane. This is not applicable to a Boeing 747 because it has 4 engines. Historically, for a twin engine commercial airplane to fly over water or land, Regulations require it to be within an hour away from an emergency airport if it loses one of its engine due to mechanical problem. Therefore, these airplanes can only operate in Airways within an hour from an emergency airport. In your case, I believe you flew on a Boeing 747 from TYO to LAX and the law need not require it to comply with this one hour rule. b. I am sure your second question is a very interesting one for those who are not very familiar with the various types of maps. Do you know that when you first did Geography in School, many people were not aware that the basic World map was a distorted representation of the Earth’s surface. Only those countries around the Equatorial regions are truly
