If a Boeing 767 runs out of fuel at 41,000 feet what do you have?\u00a0 Answer: A 132 ton glider with a sink rate of over 2000 feet-per-minute\u00a0and marginally enough hydraulic pressure to control the ailerons,\u00a0elevator, and rudder. Put veteran pilots Bob Pearson and\u00a0cool-as-a-cucumber Maurice Quintal in the cockpit and you’ve got the\u00a0unbelievable but true story of Air Canada Flight 143, known ever since\u00a0as the Gimli Glider.<\/p>\n
Flight 143’s problems began on the ground in Montreal. A computer\u00a0known as the Fuel Quantity Information System Processor manages the\u00a0entire 767 fuel loading process. The FQIS controls the fuel pumps and\u00a0drives all of the 767’s fuel gauges. Little is left for crew and\u00a0refuelers to do but hook up the hoses and dial in the desired fuel\u00a0load. But the FQIS was not working properly on Flight 143. The fault\u00a0 was later discovered to be a poorly soldered sensor. An improbable\u00a0sequence of circuit-breaking mistakes made by an Air Canada technician\u00a0independently investigating the problem defeated several layers of\u00a0redundancy built into the system. This left Aircraft # 604 without\u00a0working fuel gauges.<\/p>\n
In order to make their flight from Montreal to Ottawa and on to\u00a0Edmonton, Flight 143’s maintenance crew resorted to calculating the\u00a0767’s fuel load by hand. This was done using a procedure known as\u00a0dipping, or “dripping” the tanks. “Dripping” could be compared to\u00a0calculating the amount of oil in a car based on taking a dipstick\u00a0reading.<\/p>\n
Among other things, the specific gravity of jet fuel is needed to make\u00a0the proper “drip” calculations.<\/p>\n
The flight crew had never been trained how to perform the\u00a0 calculations. To be safe they re-ran the numbers three times to be\u00a0absolutely, positively sure the refuelers hadn’t made any mistakes;\u00a0each time using 1.77 pounds\/liter as the specific gravity factor. This\u00a0was the factor written on the refueler’s slip and used on all of the\u00a0other planes in Air Canada’s fleet. The factor the refuelers and the\u00a0crew should have used on the brand new, all-metric 767 was .8 kg\/liter of kerosene.<\/p>\n
After a brief hop Flight 143 landed in Ottawa. To be completely safe,\u00a0Pearson insisted on having the 767 re-dripped. The refuelers reporting\u00a0the plane as having 11,430 liters of fuel contained in the two wing\u00a0tanks. Pearson and Quintal, again using the same incorrect factor used\u00a0in Montreal, calculated they had 20,400 kilos of fuel on board. In\u00a0fact, they left for Ottawa with only 9144 kilos, roughly half what\u00a0would be needed to reach Edmonton.<\/p>\n
Lacking real fuel gauges Quintal and Pearson manually keyed 20,400\u00a0into the 767’s flight management computer. The flight management\u00a0computer kept rough track of the amount of fuel remaining by\u00a0subtracting the amount of fuel burned from the amount (they believed)\u00a0they had started with. Their fate was now sealed.<\/p>\n
According to Pearson, the crew and passengers had just finished dinner\u00a0when the first warning light came on. Flight 143 was outbound over Red\u00a0Lake Ontario at 41,000 feet and 469 knots at the time. The 767’s\u00a0Engine Indicator and Crew Alerting System beeped four times in quick\u00a0 succession, alerting them to a fuel pressure problem. “At that point”\u00a0Pearson says “We believed we had a failed fuel pump in the left wing,\u00a0and switched it off. We also considered the possibility we were having\u00a0some kind of a computer problem. Our flight management computer showed\u00a0more than adequate fuel remaining for the duration of the flight. We’d\u00a0made fuel checks at two waypoints and had no other indications of a\u00a0fuel shortage.” When a second fuel pressure warning light came on,\u00a0Pearson felt it was too much of a coincidence and made a decision to\u00a0divert to Winnipeg. Flight 143 requested an emergency clearance and\u00a0began a gradual descent to 28,000. Says Pearson, “Circumstances then\u00a0began to build fairly rapidly.” The other left wing pressure gauge lit up, and the 767’s\u00a0left engine quickly flamed out. The crew tried crossfeeding the tanks,\u00a0initially suspecting a pump failure.<\/p>\n
Pearson and Quintal immediately began making preparations for a one\u00a0engine landing. Then another fuel light lit up. Two minutes later,\u00a0just as preparations were being completed, the EICAS issued a sharp\u00a0bong–indicating the complete and total loss of both engines.\u00a0 Says\u00a0Quintal “It’s a sound that Bob and I had never heard before. It’s not\u00a0in the simulator.” After the “bong,” things got quiet. Real quite.\u00a0Starved of fuel, both Pratt & Whitney engines had flamed out.<\/p>\n
At 1:21 GMT, the forty million dollar, state-of-the-art Boeing 767 had\u00a0become a glider. The APU, designed to supply electrical and pneumatic\u00a0power under emergency conditions, was no help because it drank from\u00a0the same fuel tanks as the main engines. Approaching 28,000 feet the\u00a0767’s glass cockpit went dark. Pilot Bob Pearson was left with a radio\u00a0and standby instruments, noticeably lacking a vertical speed indicator\u00a0– the glider pilot’s instrument of choice. Hydraulic pressure was\u00a0falling fast and the plane’s controls were quickly becoming\u00a0 inoperative. But the engineers at Boeing had foreseen even this most\u00a0unlikely of scenarios and provided one last failsafe&emdash;the RAT.<\/p>\n
The RAT is the Ram Air Turbine, a propeller driven hydraulic pump\u00a0tucked under the belly of the 767. The RAT can supply just enough\u00a0hydraulic pressure to move the control surfaces and enable a\u00a0dead-stick landing. The loss of both engines caused the RAT to\u00a0automatically drop into the airstream and begin supplying hydraulic\u00a0pressure.<\/p>\n
As Pearson began gliding the big bird, Quintal “got busy” in the\u00a0manuals looking for procedures for dealing with the loss of both\u00a0engines. There were none.. Neither he nor Pearson nor any other 767\u00a0pilot had ever been trained on this contingency. Pearson reports he\u00a0was thinking “I wonder how it’s all going to turn out.” Controllers in\u00a0 Winnipeg began suggesting alternate landing spots, but none of the\u00a0airports suggested, including Gimli, had the emergency equipment\u00a0Flight 143 would need for a crash landing. The 767’s radar transponder\u00a0had gone dark leaving controllers in Winnipeg using a cardboard ruler\u00a0on the radar screen to try and determine the 767’s location and rate\u00a0of descent.<\/p>\n
Pearson glided the 767 at 220 knots, his best guess as to the optimum\u00a0airspeed. There was nothing in the manual about minimum sink – Boeing\u00a0never expected anyone to try and glide one of their jumbo jets. The\u00a0windmilling engine fans created enormous drag, giving the 767 a sink\u00a0 rate of somewhere between 2000 and\u00a02500 fpm. Copilot Quintal began making glide-slope calculations to see\u00a0if they’d make Winnipeg. The 767 had lost 5000 feet of altitude over\u00a0the prior ten nautical (11 statute) miles, giving a glide ratio of\u00a0approximately 11:1. ATC controllers and Quintal both calculated that\u00a0Winnipeg was going to be too far a glide;the 767 was sinking too fast.\u00a0“We’re not going to make Winnipeg” he told Pearson. Pearson trusted\u00a0Quintal absolutely at this critical moment, and immediately turned\u00a0 north.<\/p>\n
Only Gimli, the site of an abandoned Royal Canadian Air Force Base\u00a0remained as a possible landing spot. It was 12 miles away. It wasn’t\u00a0in Air Canada’s equivalent of eppensen manuals,but Quintal was\u00a0familiar with it because he’d been stationed there in the service.\u00a0 Unknown to him and the controllers in Winnipeg, Runway 32L (left) of\u00a0Gimli’s twin 6800 foot runways had become inactive and was now used\u00a0for auto racing. A steel guard rail had been installed down most of\u00a0the southeastern portion of 32L, dividing it into a two lane\u00a0dragstrip. This was the runway Pearson would ultimately try and land\u00a0 on, courting tragedy of epic proportions.<\/p>\n
To say that runway 32L was being used for auto racing is perhaps an\u00a0understatement. Gimli’s inactive runway had been “carved up” into a\u00a0variety of racing courses, including the aforementioned dragstrip.\u00a0Drag races were perhaps the only auto racing event not taking place on\u00a0July 23rd, 1983 since this was “Family Day” for the Winnipeg Sports\u00a0 Car Club. Go-cart races were being held on one portion of runway 32L\u00a0and just past the dragstrip another portion of the runway served as\u00a0the final straightaway for a road course. Around the edges of the\u00a0straightaway were cars, campers, kids, and families in abundance. To\u00a0land an airplane in the midst of all of this activity was certain\u00a0 disaster.<\/p>\n
Pearson and Copilot Quintal turned toward Gimli and continued their\u00a0steep glide. Flight 143 disappeared below Winnipeg’s radar screens,\u00a0the controllers frantically radioing for information about the number\u00a0of “souls” on board. Approaching Gimli, Pearson and Quintal made their\u00a0 next unpleasant discovery: The RAT didn’t supply hydraulic pressure to\u00a0the 767’s landing gear. Pearson ordered a “gravity drop” as Pearson\u00a0thumbed frantically through the Quick Reference Handbook, or QRH.\u00a0Quintal soon tossed the QRH aside and hit the button to release the\u00a0gear door pins. They heard the main gear fall and lock in place. But\u00a0 Quintal only got two green lights, not three. The nose gear hadn’t\u00a0gone over center and locked, despite the “assist” it was given by the\u00a0wind.<\/p>\n
Six miles out Pearson began his final approach onto what was formerly\u00a0RCAFB Gimli. Pearson says his attention was totally concentrated on\u00a0the airspeed indicator from this point on. Approaching runway 32L he\u00a0realized he was too high and too fast, and slowed to 180 knots.\u00a0Lacking divebrakes, he did what any sailplane pilot would do: He\u00a0 crossed the controls and threw the 767 into a vicious sideslip. Slips\u00a0are normally avoided on commercial flights because of the tremendous\u00a0buffeting it creates, unnerving passengers. As he put the plane into a\u00a0slip some of Flight 143’s passengers ended up looking at nothing but\u00a0blue sky, the others straight down at a golf course. Says Quintal, “It\u00a0 was an odd feeling. The left wing was down, so I was up compared to\u00a0Bob. I sort of looked down at him, not sideways anymore.”<\/p>\n
The only problem was that the slip further slowed the RAT, costing\u00a0Pearson precious hydraulic pressure. Would he be able to wrestle the\u00a0767’s dipped wing up before the plane struck the ground? Trees and\u00a0golfers were visible out the starboard side passengers’ windows as the\u00a0767 hurtled toward the threshold at 180 knots, 30-50 knots faster than\u00a0 normal. The RAT didn’t supply “juice” to the 767’s flaps or slats so\u00a0the landing was going to be hot. Pearson didn’t recover from the slip\u00a0until the very last moment. A passenger reportedly said “Christ, I can\u00a0almost see what clubs they are using.” Copilot Quintal suspected\u00a0Pearson hadn’t seen the guardrail and the multitude of people and cars\u00a0down the runway. But at this point it was too late to say anything. A\u00a0glider only gets one chance at a landing, and they were committed.\u00a0Quintal bit his lip and remained silent.<\/p>\n
Why did Pearson select 32L instead of 32R? Gimli was uncontrolled so\u00a0Pearson had to rely on visual cues. It was approaching dusk. Runway\u00a032L was a bit wider, having been the primary runway at Gimli in prior\u00a0year. Light stantions still led up to 32L. And the “X” painted on 32L,\u00a0 indicating its inactive status, was reportedly quite faded or\u00a0 non-existent. Having made an initial decision to go for 32L the wide\u00a0separation of the runways would have made it impossible for Pearson to\u00a0divert to 32R at the last moment. Pearson says he, “Never even saw\u00a032R, focusing instead on airspeed, attitude, and his plane’s\u00a0relationship to the threshold of 32L.”<\/p>\n
The 767 silently leveled off and the main gear touched down as\u00a0spectators, racers, and kids on bicycles fled the runway. The gigantic\u00a0Boeing was about to become a 132 ton, silver bulldozer. One member of\u00a0the Winnipeg Sports Car Club reported he was walking down the\u00a0dragstrip, five gallon can full of hi-octane racing fuel in hand, when\u00a0 he looked up and saw the 767 headed right for him. Pearson stood on\u00a0the brakes the instant the main gear touched down. An explosion rocked\u00a0the 767’s cabin as two tires blew. The nose gear, which hadn’t locked\u00a0down, collapsed with a bang.. The nose of the 767 slammed against the\u00a0tarmac, bounced, then began throwing a three hundred foot shower of\u00a0sparks. The right engine nacelle struck the ground. The 767 reached\u00a0the tail end of the dragstrip and the nose grazed a few of the\u00a0guardrail’s wooden support poles. (The dragstrip began in the middle\u00a0 of the runway with the guardrail extending towards 32L’s threshold) Pearson applied extra right brake so the main gear\u00a0would straddle the guardrail. Would the sports car fans be able to get\u00a0out of the way, or would Pearson have to veer the big jet off the\u00a0runway to avoid hitting stragglers?<\/p>\n
The 767 came to a stop on its nose, mains, and right engine nacelle\u00a0less than a hundred feet from spectators, barbecues and campers. All\u00a0of the race fans had managed to flee the path of the silver bulldozer.\u00a0The 767’s fuselage was intact. For an instant, there was silence in\u00a0the cabin. Then cheers and applause broke out. They’d made it; > everyone was alive. But it wasn’t over yet. A small fire had broken\u00a0out in the nose of the aircraft. Oily black smoke began to pour into\u00a0the cockpit. The fiery deaths of passengers in an Air Canada DC-9 that\u00a0had made an emergency landing in Cincinnati a month before was on the\u00a0flight attendants’ minds and an emergency evacuation was ordered. The\u00a0unusual nose-down angle the plane was resting at made the rear\u00a0emergency slides nearly vertical. Descending them was treacherous.\u00a0 The only injuries that resulted from Pearson’s dead-stick landing of\u00a0Flight 143 came from passengers exiting the rear emergency slide\u00a0slamming into the asphalt. None of the injuries were life-threatening.\u00a0The fire in the aircraft’s nose area was battled by members of the\u00a0Winnipeg Sports Car Club who converged on the plane with dozens of\u00a0 hand-held fire extinguishers. Pearson had touched down 800 feet from\u00a0the threshold and used a mere 3000 feet of runway to stop. A general\u00a0aviation pilot who viewed the landing from a Cessna on the apron of\u00a032R described it as “Impeccable.” The 767 was relatively undamaged.<\/p>\n
Air Canada Aircraft # 604 was repaired sufficiently to be flown out of\u00a0Gimli two days later. After approximately $1M in repairs, consisting\u00a0primarily of nose gear replacement, skin repairs and replacement of a\u00a0wiring harness it re-entered the Air Canada fleet. To this day\u00a0Aircraft # 604 is known to insiders as “The Gimli Glider.” The\u00a0avoidance of disaster was credited to Capt. Pearson’s “Knowledge of\u00a0 gliding which he applied in an emergency situation to the landing of\u00a0one of the most sophisticated aircraft ever built.” Captain Pearson\u00a0strongly credits Quintal for his cockpit management of “Everything but\u00a0the actual flight controls,” including his recommendation of Gimli as\u00a0an landing spot. Captains Pearson and Quintal spoke at the 1991 SSA\u00a0 Convention in Albuquerque about their experiences. Pearson was, at the\u00a0time, still employed and flying for Air Canada, and occasionally\u00a0flying his Blanik L-13 sailplane on the weekends; he has since retired\u00a0to raise horses. Maurice Quintal\u00a0is now an A-320 Pilot for Air Canada, and will soon be captaining\u00a0767’s; including Aircraft # 604.<\/p>\n
An amusing side-note to the Gimli story is that after Flight 143 had\u00a0landed safely, a group of Air Canada mechanics were dispatched to\u00a0drive down and begin effecting repair. They piled into a van with all\u00a0their tools. They reportedly ran out of fuel en-route, finding\u00a0themselves stranded somewhere in the backwoods of Manitoba.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If a Boeing 767 runs out of fuel at 41,000 feet what do you have?\u00a0 Answer: A 132 ton glider with a sink rate of over 2000 feet-per-minute\u00a0and marginally enough hydraulic pressure to control the ailerons,\u00a0elevator, and rudder. Put veteran pilots Bob Pearson and\u00a0cool-as-a-cucumber Maurice Quintal in the cockpit and you’ve got the\u00a0unbelievable but true […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p95FsX-jK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4160,"url":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/2020\/08\/flymall-july-2020-wheels-wings-newsletter\/","url_meta":{"origin":1224,"position":0},"title":"Flymall July 2020 Wheels & Wings Newsletter","date":"August 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Kraemer Aviation team hosted their annual 4th of July celebration. Click here for pictures from the event. Summer time means bees\/wasps and birds. This nest was found in our Piper Arrow. Interested in living at an airport?\u00a0 Visit our Aviation Real Estate page here. Want to have your business\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletters"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/wasp-nest1-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9497,"url":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/2025\/07\/flymall-kraemer-aviation-july-2025-wheels-wings-newsletter\/","url_meta":{"origin":1224,"position":1},"title":"Flymall \/ Kraemer Aviation July 2025 Wheels & Wings Newsletter","date":"July 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome to the Kraemer Aviation\/Flymall.org Wheels & Wings Newsletter You can view past newsletters here. Kraemer Aviation hosted their annual July 4th cookout. A good time was had by all that attended. Click here for more pictures. Some of the activities included vintage motorcycle rides and feeding our turtles. Interested\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletters"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lomax1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4112,"url":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/2020\/05\/flight-instructor-endorsements\/","url_meta":{"origin":1224,"position":2},"title":"Flight Instructor Endorsements","date":"May 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A.41 Fundamentals of instructing knowledge test: \u00a7 61.183(d). I certify that [First name, MI, Last name] has received the required fundamentals of instruction training of \u00a7 61.185(a)(1). I have determined that [he or she] is prepared for the Fundamentals of Instructing knowledge test. A.42 Flight instructor aeronautical knowledge test: \u00a7\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletters"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":328,"url":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/2016\/01\/fly-fast-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1224,"position":3},"title":"Fly Fast","date":"January 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are some simple tips to help get more speed out of your aircraft.\u00a0 Number one is to relearn what the rudder pedals are for.\u00a0 Hint, they are not foot rest.\u00a0 Anytime you are at the controls of the aircraft your feet should be on the rudder pedals, I often\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletters"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":329,"url":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/2011\/04\/fly-fast\/","url_meta":{"origin":1224,"position":4},"title":"Fly Fast","date":"April 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are some simple tips to help get more speed out of your aircraft.\u00a0 Number one is to relearn what the rudder pedals are for.\u00a0 Hint, they are not foot rest.\u00a0 Anytime you are at the controls of the aircraft your feet should be on the rudder pedals, I often\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletters"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4607,"url":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/2021\/02\/flymall-kraemer-aviation-february-2021-wheels-wings-newsletter\/","url_meta":{"origin":1224,"position":5},"title":"Flymall \/ Kraemer Aviation February 2021 Wheels & Wings Newsletter","date":"February 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome to the Kraemer Aviation\/Flymall.org Wheels & Wings Newsletter This month: An all wood bicycle, checkride success, the history of the spark plug, a glider that is part sail boat, Cessna 150 faster than a jet, and much more. You can view past newsletters here. Interested in living at an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletters"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/50979811163_5eb645e38e_o-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1224"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1224"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1225,"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1224\/revisions\/1225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}