[Note: Most of us are familiar with this story - one of the most remarkable aviation incidences (and unbelievable at the same time) that had occurred 37 years ago. This past week, while searching for Air Canada's (rare) metal-base liveries, and looking at its other Boeing 767 colors, I was again reminded of that (unforgettable) story. This also coincided with my (recent) desire to take to the sky, the CS-767, that I've not got to fly in a very long time. So, here, we go, with the story-line and a set of symbolic (SIM) images, behind this incredible event, and, about, a couple of determined (and quick-thinking) Pilots, who remained, as they say, "cool-as-cucumber", throughout the ordeal, in the flightdeck of the (stricken) 767 jetliner, involved in the incidence...]

On the evening of July 23, 1983, Air Canada Flight-143 departed Montreal-Dorval (now Montreal-Trudeau) International Airport, at 5:48pm eastern time with their 61 passengers and 8 crew members. At 6:58pm they made a brief scheduled stopover in Ottawa, and were next en-route to Edmonton. Just after 8:00pm central time, having already climbed to 41,000 feet cruise altitude, Captain Bob Pearson, was suddenly alarmed by abnormal beeps chiming out in the 767's cockpit, accompanied by an (ominous) low-fuel-pressure warning lamp lit up on the panel. On any long-haul jetliner, like this, on a scheduled flight, barely just about the middle of the route, low-fuel-warning, is unheard of...something must be seriously wrong, was the immediate conclusion. Yes, something was, indeed, seriously wrong, and the root-cause of the domino effects had actually happened, hours before, while filling the tanks of the jetliner, on the tarmac, at Montreal Airport. In our daily activities, we all, occasionally, make small (and harmless) math errors, such as, e.g. during grocery, picking up a 5 lbs bag of potatoes, instead of 5 kgs (pre-ordained, by the higher authorities...🙂...), only to realize later, that the bag indeed feels half less heavy, no harm done, but, here is a (similar) simple human-error that came close to taking the lives of 69 souls...!

Let's re-state the math facts, involved, here, which, I read, some aviation-aware teachers, have since given to their (junior) students as a case study for how significant it is to appreciate the two systems of measurements prevalent in our day-to-day lives, depending on where we live, and our own bias and preference for it...(After all, pounds and kilograms, what’s the difference? Actually, quite a lot when it relates to a large jetliner flying at 41,000 feet, and the lives of 69 people, on board, at stake)...

Root Problem (first domino of the domino-effect):
Due to (prior) mechanical difficulties, the fuel gauges, on the B767, weren’t working. This was realized during the stopover in Montreal, so the amount of fuel had to be calculated manually, by hand, for the trip to the destination (Edmonton).

Mitigation Plan:
Aircraft fuel is calculated in terms of its weight, not its volume (this is because temperature can cause increase/decrease of volume, but, weight remains same). Mechanics knew (correctly) that the plane would need 22,300 "kilograms" of fuel to fly from Montreal to Edmonton, and they were also able to (correctly) determine that there were 7,682 "liters" of fuel in the tank at that time. It was then (incorrectly) calculated that they needed an extra 4,916 liters (see below) from the fuel truck. This error happened, because, to convert volume to weight, they used the conversion factor 1.77, which is, actually, in the unit of "pounds per liter", not "kilograms per liter".

Math behind the (erroneous) plan:
7,682 liters x 1.77 lbs/liter = 13,597 "lbs" (incorrectly assumed to be 13,597 "kgs", already in the tanks)
22,300 kg - 13,597 kg = 8,703 kg (additional fuel, in weight, incorrectly assumed, to be required)
8,703 kg / 1.77 lb/liter = 4,916 liters (additional fuel, in volume, incorrectly assumed, to be required)

The conversion factor that should have been used, on the brand-new "all-metric" B767, was 0.8 kg/liter, in which case, they would have noticed that the final fuel (in the tanks) was only about half of what was needed for the flight. The correct (extra) volume of fuel, that should have been added was 20,088 liters (not 4,916 liters).  I guess, this is why they say, "hindsight is 20/20.".

Oh well...enter, now, the heroic Pilots: Captain Bob Pearson and First Officer Maurice Quintal. The (initial) indicated problem seemed to be only with the fuel pump for the left wing fuel-tank. So, while consulting the Boeing 767 handbook, the Pilots decided on a diversion to Winnipeg (Manitoba), and duly alerted the ATC. Though, meanwhile, soon enough, the situation got even more critical, with all three fuel-tanks (L/C/R) showing up empty. [Side Note: For those non-pilots like me, who have never been in the vicinity of a real 767 cockpit, the (3) Fuel Gauges, can be seen, on the, below, overhead panel shot, at the center of the panel, below the fuel cross-feed pump switches]. Then within seconds, with a characteristic thump, the, ever-reliable, (high-bypass) turbofan engine (left one) lost its power. While the Pilots were now deliberating about a delicate single-engine touchdown, of the jet, at Winnipeg, and were also trying to restart the left engine, the hum, from the remaining (and only) engine, also fell into an eerie silence. With no power from either engine, the complex jetliner was now reduced to a powerless (and world's largest) "Glider" - to be remembered, in future, as the "Gimli Glider" - forced to fall back to the use of the most rudimentary (battery powered) navigational instruments such as a compass, an artificial horizon, an airspeed indicator, and an altimeter etc. (vertical speed indicator was not one of them) - with rest of the advanced instrumentation having gone blank. An (airstream powered) Ram Air Turbine (RAT) was the only alternative source of power. [Side Note: The (767) RAT switch seems to be located on the overhead panel, just above the Engine Start knobs, if you wish, please see (overhead panel) screenshot below.]

Now, the Captain, diverting his thoughts from Winnipeg, consulted with ATC and his FO, to propose the nearest alternative airport, Gimli, just across the Lake Winnipeg, in Manitoba (see MAP screenshot). Pearson and Quintal, again consulted their 767 emergency manuals, for any procedures, for the inevitable scenario of a "powerless" landing. Gimli airport was known to have no "emergency equipment" available, just one "decommissioned" runway for possible landing, and no "traffic control" assistance...! But, they also say, "fortune favors the bold". As a stroke of luck, it had so happened that FO Quintal had served, in Gimli, during his duty with the RCAF, and was quite familiar with the area. And, moreover, Captain Bob Pearson, was an experienced Glider Pilot himself.

Gimli airport, been converted to a race-track complex, was the site of Sports Car (summer) festivity, that evening, with many children, in their Race Carts, racing along the runway..., while, oblivious to them, the massive (and soundless) 767 was bearing down on them, without engine power...! To increase drag and lower altitude, without any conventional means, the Captain had to execute what's called a "forward-slip" maneuver, never before tried with such a large jet. At 8:38pm, the plane's gears made impact onto the runway; the front gear, assisted only by gravity-drop, collapsed, during roll-out, causing the nose of the plane, to drop onto the runway, and skid along, fortunately, thereby, providing, effective deceleration, to aid the Captain's forceful braking action. The pilots noticed two boys riding bicycles within 1000 feet of their touchdown point...! After the plane eventually came to a stop, a few of the Race Cart drivers, helped extinguish the fire that was caused by friction. It was "17" minutes of flight, to final stoppage, from the time of running out of fuel, in mid-air, which must have surely felt like an eternity to the two pilots...! Everyone was able to walk away from the plane, all 69 souls survived (there was not a single fatality nor any serious injury)...thus, making this a classic feel-good aviation story....!

In 1985, the pilots were awarded the first ever Fédération Aéronautique Internationale Diploma for Outstanding Airmanship. The internet is replete with accounts and articles about this legendary tale of this famous B767, nicknamed the "Gimli Glider", and, of course, the two brave pilots, who handled her so well with such remarkable courage...! If further interested, please refer to appropriate (additional) resources further details.

And, below, as a symbolic measure of memory, of this miraculous event, by no means, a factual replication, but only as a normal flight, I'm flying the CS-767, in the same representative "Old Air Canada" color of the Gimli Glider, from Montreal (CYUL) to the Gimli Industrial Park Airport (CYGM), Manitoba. Please note and excuse: Since, without some Navaid/LOC support, I never seem to succeed, in the SIM, aligning such large jets, properly with the runway, for landing, I've used, here, a "Synthetic ILS" gauge with a pair of artificial LOC/GS needles (see screenshot), for touchdown (guidance to about 4-5 nm and then visual to runway threshold). Nonetheless, hope, you enjoy, this account and these images, below. For this flight, I've done the due diligence, for my benefit and practice, of a cold & dark start up, on the tarmac, at Montreal.

It was all good fun...!! Thanks for your interest. Comments are always welcome.  

And, happy flying, with whatever SIM, you're now flying at the moment (or anxiously waiting to get flying again...)...!!

[CS(B767-300)/REX]

Edited October 11, 20205 yr by P_7878

A great reminder of a historic glide. Thank you!

Children of the Magenta and airline training policies please take note..

After such a well-told story, the pictures almost seem unnecessary...but enjoyed anyway.

John

I had a complete different association with Gimli... Thank you for bringing us another educational story with great pictures!

Mark, John, Harald et al.: Much appreciated the comments and reactions...🙂....!!

[Mark: Please see item (1) below.]

A few (additional) points of worthy note:

1. As it always happens, policies were, indeed, updated after this incidence, to prevent future re-occurrence, and, among many recommendations, it included, "... better, more thorough training on the metric system to its pilots and fueling personnel....".
2. Several (aftermath) recreation attempts of the same scenario, by other crew, in a simulator, resulted in crashes.
3. This 767-233 (C-GAUN) was temporarily repaired at Gimli and flew out two days later to be fully repaired at a maintenance base in Winnipeg, and was then returned to service with Air Canada.
4. Pearson had glided the 767 at 220 knots, his best guess for optimum speed (without any kind of precedence or instructions to go by, for such a jetliner). His limited available instrumentation, noticeably, lacked a vertical speed indicator. The Glide had resulted in a sink rate of (2000-2500) fpm, while the FO Quintal was making glide-slope calculations. During this phase, they determined that they could not make it to Winnipeg (too far for Glide), and Pearson, in consultation with Quintal, then, turned the aircraft "north" towards Gimli, located 12 miles away, at that point, (Gimli is north of Winnipeg, please see MAP in the post).
5. Six miles out Pearson began his final approach onto Gimli. His attention was totally concentrated on the airspeed indicator from this point on. Approaching runway 32L he realized he was too high and too fast, and slowed to 180 knots.  Lacking divebrakes, he did what any sailplane pilot would do: He crossed the controls and threw the 767 into a vicious sideslip. How he eventually leveled off this ~130-ton aircraft, just, prior to touchdown, is better left to the imagination (and to the training books)...
6. After 25 years of service, the Gimli Glider finally retired on 24 January 2008, (its first flight (10/83) was in the same year, just a couple of months prior to the incidence).
7. There was an attempt to auction off this 767 in 2013, but, it was unsuccessful. Bob Pearson was present at that event and had said he is unaccustomed the sort of fanfare he received at the auction where he was treated more like a rock star than a retired pilot...! “This is quite unusual,” he said. “I’ve been a bit of a country boy for the last 25 years. Our little country auctions selling tractors can’t hold a candle to this.” Quite a gentleman...!!

Such a shame that FIN 604 was not donated to a museum. Thank you sharing your screenshots and the story. 
 

Dan

***Fantastic Post/Story***

I remember they did a movie of this account.  Amazing piloting to get the plane down safely. A testament to the subsequent simulator scenarios that failed by other pilots.  

2 minutes ago, HighTowers said:

 Amazing piloting to get the plane down safely. A testament to the subsequent simulator scenarios that failed by other pilots.  

Weren't similar failures experienced when trying to replicate Sully's forced landing on the Hudson? 

7 minutes ago, HighBypass said:

Weren't similar failures experienced when trying to replicate Sully's forced landing on the Hudson? 

Dont have those facts, but I would think its very likely recreated.  Best that comes from these experiences, is pilot awareness, and preparation for a similar scenario if it were to happen. 

I was a little mistaken - 

https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/31485/how-miraculous-was-the-miracle-on-the-hudson

In the scenario where pilots had to return to LGA or TEB -i.e. land on a runway, 7 out of 15 didn't make it and this is with initiating an immediate turn to port with no delay as soon as power was lost. The one case which had a 35 second delay after losing both engines also didn't make it.

All the pilots trying for a ditching landing (12 runs) made it with varying degrees of flightpath angle at the point of ditching.

21 hours ago, dpergau said:

Such a shame that FIN 604 was not donated to a museum. Thank you sharing your screenshots and the story. 
 

Dan

Hi Dan: Thanks for the comments...!

Yes, at the end of useful life, we certainly wish for nice endings to happen to such famous planes, that have had their active lives marked by some significant events, but, sometimes, I guess, the various logistic factors, become too overwhelming. I've closely studied the final fates of a few such famous planes...during the course of my posts, here, and otherwise....

While examining this 767's fate, during this post, I'd come across a few images. Here, below, is one that stayed with me: If you wish, please search for the keywords, "MHV/KMHV Untitled Boeing 767-233 C-GAUN", to be led to an image of the Mojave Airplane Graveyard...I'll let you spot the Gimli Glider among the many other planes nearby...

Anyway, the FIN number "604"'s memories will surely persist no matter what...!!

 

5 hours ago, HighTowers said:

I remember they did a movie of this account.... 

Dave: The Wiki refers to a 1995 "made-for-television" film (Freefall: Flight 174) based on Gimli Glider. But, it looks like, recently, since 2018, there has been talk of another one, this time, on the big-screen...if they ever finish it, it should be a good one, assuming they take their cues properly from Bob Pearson...!

 

Mark:

Interesting bits...though all the complex factors associated with these two "real" events, are so unique and, therefore, so hard to replicate...!

 

Patrick:

Thanks for the kind words...!!