21 years ago Air Transat Flight 236 was on a transatlantic flight bound for Lisbon, Portugal, from Toronto, Canada, and lost all engine power while flying over the Atlantic Ocean.
The Airbus A330 ran out of fuel due to a fuel leak caused by improper maintenance. Captain Robert Piché, 48, an experienced glider pilot, and First Officer Dirk de Jager, 28, glided the plane to a successful emergency landing in the Azores, saving all 306 people.
This was also the longest passenger aircraft glide without engines, gliding for nearly 75 miles or 121 kilometres. Following this unusual aviation accident, this aircraft was nicknamed the “Azores Glider”.
The Portuguese Aviation Accidents Prevention and Investigation Department (GPIAA) investigated the accident along with Canadian and French authorities.
The investigation revealed that the cause of the accident was a fuel leak in the no. 2 engine, caused by an incorrect part installed in the hydraulics system by Air Transat maintenance staff as part of routine maintenance. The engine had been replaced with a spare engine, lent by Rolls-Royce, from an older model which did not include a hydraulic pump. Despite the lead mechanic’s concerns, Air Transat authorized the use of a part from a similar engine, an adaptation that did not maintain adequate clearance between the hydraulic lines and the fuel line. This lack of clearance, on the order of millimetres from the intended part, allowed chafing between the lines to rupture the fuel line, causing the leak. Air Transat accepted responsibility for the accident and was fined C$250,000 by the Canadian government, which as of 2009 was the largest fine in Canadian history.
Pilot error was also listed as one of the lead causes of the accident (for failing to identify the fuel leak, neglecting to shut down cross-feed after the first engine flamed out, and failing to follow standard operating procedures in possibly more than one case). Nevertheless, the pilots returned to a heroes’ welcome from the Canadian press as a result of their successful unpowered landing. In 2002, Captain Piché was awarded the Superior Airmanship Award by the Air Line Pilots’ Association.
Source – Airline Secret Exposed FB Page
