I'd put the whole thing as an urban myth. 747 engines were somewhat unreliable early in the a/c's service history (mid-early 70s). By the time CX started HKG-YVR service (early mid 80s), they were fairly/very reliable. More than a few 742 YVR-HKG flights had to make stops en route as the occasional strong headwind would drain fuel from the 742s (YVR-HKG was at the edge of range, apparently). That wasn't a problem with 744s.

As for 747s flying on 2 engines only, it could be tricky. In that UA incident (where a cargo hold door came off and the debris taking out two starboard engines in flight), the plan apparently only had one chance to make a landing as it couldn't gain altitude with a hole in the fuselage. 2 dead engines also cause substantial drag.

The engine flames-outs (caused by volcano flying into volcanic ash clouds) were't dead stick landings. The a/c (BA and KL) had engine power on landing.


[This message has been edited by terenz (edited 08-06-2002).]