The Incident as a Situational Example

You are flying an eastbound transatlantic route at night. The flight is planned for a northerly route to benefit from upper-level winds toward Europe. Established in cruise at Flight Level (FL) 350, flying toward 69N/90W, the relief pilot has been sent back for the first rest period. The first officer is going to take the next rest break and you the last.

The first alternate is an airport at 90W, the second is at 20W, the next is in Europe, as a closer one in Iceland is forecast to be down to 400 ft broken, albeit with adequate visibility.

Approaching 90W, you notice that oil quantity is dropping on the no. 2 engine. At this point, both you and the first officer look in the logbook for oil checks and notice no oil has been added for some time, indicating a good engine up to the moment you took over the airplane.