1 00:00:03,655 --> 00:00:05,620 A brand new 767. 2 00:00:06,862 --> 00:00:08,551 Fuel pressure. Why would that be? 3 00:00:11,758 --> 00:00:14,103 How come I have no instruments? 4 00:00:14,206 --> 00:00:18,172 A catastrophic failure at 26,000 feet. 5 00:00:18,275 --> 00:00:19,862 Winnipeg, Air Canada 143. 6 00:00:19,965 --> 00:00:21,827 Air Canada 143, go ahead. 7 00:00:21,931 --> 00:00:23,413 Just lost both engines. 8 00:00:23,517 --> 00:00:24,413 Holy cow! 9 00:00:25,517 --> 00:00:26,862 I'm talking to a dead man. 10 00:00:26,965 --> 00:00:28,793 Uh, how far are we from Gimli? 11 00:00:28,896 --> 00:00:31,620 You're approximately 12 miles from Gimli right now. 12 00:00:34,758 --> 00:00:36,655 I guess I'll just slip it. 13 00:00:36,758 --> 00:00:38,137 The crew is out of options 14 00:00:38,241 --> 00:00:39,482 and running out of time. 15 00:00:43,827 --> 00:00:46,620 They're at the controls of a 95-tonne jet... 16 00:00:48,793 --> 00:00:50,931 that's quickly falling from the sky. 17 00:00:57,344 --> 00:00:58,413 Mayday! Mayday! 18 00:01:16,517 --> 00:01:19,206 In placid skies over central Canada, 19 00:01:19,310 --> 00:01:23,068 Air Canada Flight 143 is just past the halfway mark 20 00:01:23,172 --> 00:01:26,034 of its journey from Montreal to Edmonton, Alberta. 21 00:01:27,827 --> 00:01:29,310 Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. 22 00:01:29,413 --> 00:01:30,586 This is your first officer... 23 00:01:30,689 --> 00:01:31,862 The plane is carrying 24 00:01:31,965 --> 00:01:35,448 61 passengers and eight crew members. 25 00:01:35,551 --> 00:01:39,310 Beautiful day. Clear temperature at 24 degrees Celsius. 26 00:01:39,413 --> 00:01:42,586 It's July 23rd, 1983. 27 00:01:42,689 --> 00:01:45,517 Hey, that's coming along, huh? 28 00:01:45,620 --> 00:01:48,068 Rick Dion is an Air Canada maintenance engineer. 29 00:01:49,517 --> 00:01:52,482 I was going to Edmonton with my wife Pearl 30 00:01:52,586 --> 00:01:55,758 and my young son Chris who was four-years-old 31 00:01:55,862 --> 00:01:57,000 and this was the beginning 32 00:01:57,103 --> 00:01:58,620 of a two-week vacation for us 33 00:01:58,724 --> 00:02:00,206 and we were all pretty excited 34 00:02:00,310 --> 00:02:01,965 about going on this new airplane. 35 00:02:03,482 --> 00:02:04,862 Compliment of the captain. 36 00:02:04,965 --> 00:02:06,137 Oh, hey, Rob. Thanks. 37 00:02:06,241 --> 00:02:07,862 Whenever you want to come up to the flight deck... 38 00:02:07,965 --> 00:02:10,724 This was my first flight on a modern 767 39 00:02:10,827 --> 00:02:12,620 as the company had just acquired them. 40 00:02:12,724 --> 00:02:14,241 I'll be back in a minute, okay? 41 00:02:14,344 --> 00:02:16,206 I was interested in going to the cockpit 42 00:02:16,310 --> 00:02:18,827 to see all this new technology 43 00:02:18,931 --> 00:02:20,862 fit in with the work that I did on aircraft. 44 00:02:22,551 --> 00:02:25,172 The captain on this flight is Bob Pearson. 45 00:02:25,275 --> 00:02:26,758 He's 48-years-old 46 00:02:26,862 --> 00:02:29,655 and he's spent more than 15,000 hours in the air. 47 00:02:30,896 --> 00:02:33,137 His first officer is Maurice Quintal 48 00:02:33,241 --> 00:02:36,137 who has more than 7,000 hours of flying time. 49 00:02:38,068 --> 00:02:38,896 Come on in. 50 00:02:40,517 --> 00:02:41,896 - Pardon me, gentlemen. - Rick. 51 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,275 I knew Bob Pearson from the small flying club 52 00:02:45,379 --> 00:02:47,620 that I attended in Saint-Lazare 53 00:02:47,724 --> 00:02:52,758 and he was actually one of the local pilots there that used to do some gliding 54 00:02:52,862 --> 00:02:56,000 and he also flew the ultra-light Lazairs. 55 00:02:57,758 --> 00:03:00,655 We had departed heading northwest, 56 00:03:00,758 --> 00:03:03,724 a nice clear sunny day in July. 57 00:03:03,827 --> 00:03:06,965 We're a flight plan of 39,000 feet. 58 00:03:07,068 --> 00:03:11,551 There were a few airplanes that flew that high in 1983 59 00:03:11,655 --> 00:03:13,896 and we requested 41,000 feet 60 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:18,172 which got us further above the jet stream out of the west. 61 00:03:18,275 --> 00:03:21,344 The crew may have accumulated a lot of hours in the air 62 00:03:21,448 --> 00:03:23,724 but very few in this plane. 63 00:03:23,827 --> 00:03:28,827 It's Boeing's latest and most advanced wide body jet, the 767. 64 00:03:33,689 --> 00:03:38,000 An army of microprocessors in the belly of the plane automates so many functions 65 00:03:38,103 --> 00:03:40,689 that the flight engineer's job has been eliminated. 66 00:03:43,137 --> 00:03:47,965 This is one of four 767s that Air Canada has recently acquired. 67 00:03:48,068 --> 00:03:50,931 The plane itself has only 150 hours on it. 68 00:03:53,827 --> 00:03:55,482 - Quite a difference here, huh? - Oh, yeah. 69 00:03:56,551 --> 00:03:57,965 Reset on and start here. 70 00:03:58,862 --> 00:04:00,310 The cockpit is different 71 00:04:00,413 --> 00:04:02,586 in that all the old instrumentation 72 00:04:02,689 --> 00:04:05,413 that we're accustomed to, mostly that was all gone. 73 00:04:05,517 --> 00:04:10,275 It was all CRT display like, uh small TV screens. 74 00:04:10,379 --> 00:04:13,206 It was a new high-tech airplane 75 00:04:13,310 --> 00:04:18,137 which involved quite a change for the crew 76 00:04:18,241 --> 00:04:21,379 and the maintenance personnel, people handling it. 77 00:04:21,482 --> 00:04:25,275 This was a new aircraft for both the captain and I. 78 00:04:25,379 --> 00:04:27,827 At the time I had 75 hours on that airplane, 79 00:04:27,931 --> 00:04:30,379 so everything was new for me. 80 00:04:30,482 --> 00:04:32,103 Pilots and maintenance crews 81 00:04:32,206 --> 00:04:34,310 are both still getting to know this airliner. 82 00:04:36,034 --> 00:04:37,689 Well then we get that same condition... 83 00:04:37,793 --> 00:04:39,689 Captain Pearson explains to Dion 84 00:04:39,793 --> 00:04:43,137 how he handled a small problem with the engines on an earlier flight. 85 00:04:43,241 --> 00:04:46,931 ...comes back down at a low stage and then we just carry on. 86 00:04:47,034 --> 00:04:48,344 You know, that brings up an interesting... 87 00:04:53,482 --> 00:04:56,000 Fuel pressure? Why would that be? 88 00:04:56,482 --> 00:04:57,965 Whoa. 89 00:04:58,068 --> 00:05:00,724 A warning alerts the crew to critically low pressure 90 00:05:00,827 --> 00:05:03,034 at one of the plane's fuel pumps. 91 00:05:03,137 --> 00:05:04,517 Something's wrong with the fuel pump. 92 00:05:08,137 --> 00:05:11,344 The 767 has three main fuel tanks, 93 00:05:11,448 --> 00:05:13,827 two in the wings which are always used 94 00:05:13,931 --> 00:05:17,068 and one in the center, only used on long distance flights. 95 00:05:18,793 --> 00:05:21,655 Electric fuel pumps draw fuel from each tank 96 00:05:21,758 --> 00:05:24,655 and feed it to the plane's two engines. 97 00:05:24,758 --> 00:05:27,965 The low pressure warning could mean that one of the pumps needs maintenance 98 00:05:28,068 --> 00:05:30,586 but it could also be a more serious issue, 99 00:05:30,689 --> 00:05:32,413 a lack of fuel to be pumped. 100 00:05:33,793 --> 00:05:35,344 No forward fuel pump. 101 00:05:35,448 --> 00:05:37,793 I hope it's just a bloody pump failing, I can tell you that. 102 00:05:40,586 --> 00:05:43,000 Another low fuel pressure warning sounds, 103 00:05:43,103 --> 00:05:46,862 this one from another fuel pump on the plane's left side. 104 00:05:46,965 --> 00:05:48,965 Pearson's flight management computer tells him 105 00:05:49,068 --> 00:05:52,103 he should have plenty of fuel for the remainder of the trip. 106 00:05:52,206 --> 00:05:55,862 The 767 also has separate digital fuel gauges, 107 00:05:55,965 --> 00:05:56,931 but on this flight, 108 00:05:57,034 --> 00:05:58,310 those gauges are out of service. 109 00:05:59,827 --> 00:06:01,620 The warnings don't make sense. 110 00:06:01,724 --> 00:06:03,655 It got a little more interesting 111 00:06:03,758 --> 00:06:07,379 when the second fuel boost pump light came on 112 00:06:07,482 --> 00:06:09,724 for that tank which was the left tank. 113 00:06:09,827 --> 00:06:13,517 This seemed quite abnormal 114 00:06:13,620 --> 00:06:17,551 that two pumps would fail in a brand new airplane. 115 00:06:17,655 --> 00:06:20,827 We had some kind of a problem that we didn't understand. 116 00:06:22,172 --> 00:06:23,482 What would your assessment of that be? 117 00:06:23,586 --> 00:06:25,413 My own personal thoughts? 118 00:06:25,517 --> 00:06:27,000 You might be low on the left tank. 119 00:06:28,137 --> 00:06:31,241 I used to be involved with transferring fuel 120 00:06:31,344 --> 00:06:34,827 and I know that when you're trying to empty a tank, 121 00:06:34,931 --> 00:06:37,862 it'll start flashing periodically 122 00:06:37,965 --> 00:06:41,551 and then the pump will re-prime and then the light will go out. 123 00:06:41,655 --> 00:06:45,379 In this case, it appeared to do exactly the same thing. 124 00:06:48,172 --> 00:06:51,793 Captain Pearson knows that if the left tank is running low, 125 00:06:51,896 --> 00:06:54,655 the right tank may be low as well. 126 00:06:54,758 --> 00:06:57,482 Let's head for Winnipeg, now! 127 00:06:57,586 --> 00:06:59,655 Pearson wants to land as soon as possible 128 00:06:59,758 --> 00:07:01,413 in case he is running out of fuel. 129 00:07:05,724 --> 00:07:08,344 The crew is still more than 700 miles away 130 00:07:08,448 --> 00:07:09,896 from their original destination, 131 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:11,344 Edmonton, Alberta. 132 00:07:11,448 --> 00:07:14,517 The nearest major airport is Winnipeg, Manitoba, 133 00:07:14,620 --> 00:07:18,034 a mere 120 miles away. 134 00:07:18,137 --> 00:07:21,068 We were showing lots of fuel on board our flight management computer 135 00:07:21,172 --> 00:07:25,275 and three normal fuel checks, cross checked with our fuel on our flight plan. 136 00:07:25,379 --> 00:07:27,931 So we elected to divert the flight to Winnipeg 137 00:07:29,034 --> 00:07:31,724 where Air Canada has a main maintenance base. 138 00:07:32,793 --> 00:07:35,241 Winnipeg center, Air Canada 143. 139 00:07:35,344 --> 00:07:37,310 Air Canada 143, go ahead. 140 00:07:37,413 --> 00:07:42,000 Ron Hewett has 20 years' experience as a radar controller. 141 00:07:42,103 --> 00:07:45,000 Yes, sir, we have a problem. We're going to... 142 00:07:45,103 --> 00:07:47,310 Requesting direct Winnipeg. 143 00:07:47,413 --> 00:07:49,586 Air Canada 143, cleared. 144 00:07:49,689 --> 00:07:51,586 Take position direct Winnipeg. 145 00:07:51,689 --> 00:07:55,275 You are cleared to maintain 6,000. Descent your discretion. 146 00:07:55,379 --> 00:07:58,689 Send to 6,000 his discretion and that was it. 147 00:07:58,793 --> 00:08:00,413 He didn't tell us what the problem was 148 00:08:00,517 --> 00:08:02,517 and uh, it's none of my business. 149 00:08:02,620 --> 00:08:05,586 Give him what he wants, get everybody out of his way. 150 00:08:05,689 --> 00:08:06,482 That's about what we do. 151 00:08:07,241 --> 00:08:09,586 Okay. We're out of 4-1-0. 152 00:08:09,689 --> 00:08:12,862 Pearson now begins to descend from 41,000 feet. 153 00:08:16,517 --> 00:08:18,931 Oh, man. They're all going out, eh? 154 00:08:19,034 --> 00:08:20,724 The low pressure warnings are spreading 155 00:08:20,827 --> 00:08:22,586 to more and more of the fuel pumps. 156 00:08:32,448 --> 00:08:36,000 Quintal instructs the cabin crew to prepare for an emergency landing. 157 00:08:37,206 --> 00:08:38,862 - Hello? - Cabin, 158 00:08:38,965 --> 00:08:41,034 we think we have problems with our fuel system. 159 00:08:41,137 --> 00:08:42,724 We are diverting to Winnipeg. 160 00:08:48,655 --> 00:08:50,551 All flight attendants to front galley, please. 161 00:08:53,068 --> 00:08:55,344 I hope this is just false warnings. 162 00:08:55,448 --> 00:08:57,000 Rick, can you think of anything we haven't done? 163 00:08:58,310 --> 00:08:59,758 No, I can't, Bob. 164 00:09:11,103 --> 00:09:14,310 Okay, we've lost the left engine. 165 00:09:16,275 --> 00:09:18,827 Losing an engine erases any doubt. 166 00:09:18,931 --> 00:09:21,965 Flight 143 is, in fact, running out of fuel. 167 00:09:23,172 --> 00:09:25,310 Okay, checklist, single engine landing. 168 00:09:28,931 --> 00:09:32,379 Pearson is trained to land a 767 with one engine. 169 00:09:33,862 --> 00:09:36,275 No one has ever tried landing with none. 170 00:09:39,034 --> 00:09:41,310 He scrambles to get his plane down 171 00:09:41,413 --> 00:09:43,068 so that he doesn't become the first. 172 00:09:46,310 --> 00:09:50,137 With only one engine powering Air Canada Flight 143 173 00:09:50,241 --> 00:09:53,586 and with the possibility of the other engine shutting down, 174 00:09:53,689 --> 00:09:56,000 the crew prepares the passengers for the worst. 175 00:09:59,827 --> 00:10:02,827 Ladies and gentlemen, this is your in-charge flight attendant speaking. 176 00:10:02,931 --> 00:10:06,551 Due to mechanical problems we'll be preparing for an emergency landing. 177 00:10:06,655 --> 00:10:09,827 Please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts. 178 00:10:09,931 --> 00:10:12,206 Your crew is fully trained to deal with this situation 179 00:10:12,310 --> 00:10:14,034 and as you may have noticed, some crew members 180 00:10:14,137 --> 00:10:16,413 have already started to prepare the aircraft. 181 00:10:16,517 --> 00:10:20,137 I had no idea like the rest of my crew members 182 00:10:20,241 --> 00:10:22,586 that there was a problem with fuel. 183 00:10:22,689 --> 00:10:26,551 I had no idea why we were going to Winnipeg. 184 00:10:29,241 --> 00:10:30,793 Approach and landing, 185 00:10:30,896 --> 00:10:32,827 - flaps will be 20. - Right. 186 00:10:32,931 --> 00:10:34,172 Ground flap override. 187 00:10:34,275 --> 00:10:35,758 As they're doing that drill, 188 00:10:35,862 --> 00:10:40,206 the right hand fuel pump low pressure light 189 00:10:40,310 --> 00:10:44,482 was flashing as well, much like it did on the left. 190 00:10:44,586 --> 00:10:47,689 They were quite busy carrying out first engine out, 191 00:10:47,793 --> 00:10:50,137 not watching the pump lights 192 00:10:50,241 --> 00:10:53,068 which was right at my eyebrow, 193 00:10:53,172 --> 00:10:56,241 so, I kind of knew that that one there was gonna shut down too. 194 00:10:59,793 --> 00:11:00,793 What was that? 195 00:11:08,172 --> 00:11:09,827 Very shortly we will begin giving you instructions. 196 00:11:19,379 --> 00:11:20,827 How come I have no instruments? 197 00:11:21,965 --> 00:11:24,793 Our beautiful colored engine 198 00:11:24,896 --> 00:11:28,551 and flight instrument displays simply went black. 199 00:11:28,655 --> 00:11:30,931 Ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm. 200 00:11:31,034 --> 00:11:32,931 Please follow our instructions. 201 00:11:33,034 --> 00:11:34,724 Refrain from smoking. 202 00:11:34,827 --> 00:11:36,931 Put your chair back in the upright position. 203 00:11:37,034 --> 00:11:38,827 Secure your seatbelt tightly against your hip. 204 00:11:41,379 --> 00:11:43,896 It's exactly what Pearson had feared. 205 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:46,137 He's lost both engines. 206 00:11:46,241 --> 00:11:52,241 At 26,500 feet, still 75 miles from the nearest major airport, 207 00:11:52,344 --> 00:11:53,655 he is out of fuel. 208 00:11:53,758 --> 00:11:55,517 Winnipeg, Air Canada 143. 209 00:11:55,620 --> 00:11:57,586 Air Canada 143, go ahead. 210 00:11:57,689 --> 00:11:59,413 We just lost both engines. 211 00:11:59,517 --> 00:12:02,689 When both engines uh shut off, 212 00:12:04,517 --> 00:12:08,275 I think I said, "Holy... I'm talking to a dead man." 213 00:12:08,379 --> 00:12:09,896 We were trained on the simulator 214 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:12,344 to handle a single engine failure. 215 00:12:12,448 --> 00:12:15,586 We had never practiced and I don't believe most pilots 216 00:12:15,689 --> 00:12:18,655 ever get the chance to practice total engine failures. 217 00:12:21,206 --> 00:12:22,827 One-four-three just lost their engines. 218 00:12:25,586 --> 00:12:29,586 It's highly unlikely that anybody's gonna survive this, 219 00:12:29,689 --> 00:12:34,586 'cause I could see them trying to make a turn and spinning in. 220 00:12:34,689 --> 00:12:37,586 An airplane's engines not only provide thrust, 221 00:12:37,689 --> 00:12:40,896 they also generate the power needed to manipulate the plane. 222 00:12:42,620 --> 00:12:44,827 It would be completely uncontrollable, 223 00:12:44,931 --> 00:12:47,344 but modern airliners are like a Swiss Army knife 224 00:12:47,448 --> 00:12:49,482 with one last blade hidden away. 225 00:12:50,517 --> 00:12:52,620 In the event of a loss of power, 226 00:12:52,724 --> 00:12:56,482 they automatically deploy the RAT, or Ram Air Turbine. 227 00:12:58,448 --> 00:13:02,862 It's spring loaded and the propeller that drives this small hydraulic pump 228 00:13:02,965 --> 00:13:04,965 is about the size of a propeller 229 00:13:05,068 --> 00:13:07,620 you would see, like, on a little Cessna 150 230 00:13:07,724 --> 00:13:12,344 and this arm catapults down into the slipstream. 231 00:13:12,448 --> 00:13:15,965 This propeller starts to turn, drives this hydraulic pump 232 00:13:16,068 --> 00:13:18,034 and it gives you basic systems. 233 00:13:22,758 --> 00:13:26,620 It was pretty quiet flying without motors. 234 00:13:26,724 --> 00:13:29,241 Pearson knows that time is running out. 235 00:13:29,344 --> 00:13:31,862 He needs directions to the closest landing strip. 236 00:13:32,758 --> 00:13:35,551 One-four-three, this is a mayday 237 00:13:35,655 --> 00:13:39,000 and we require a vector on to the closest available runway. 238 00:13:39,103 --> 00:13:41,620 One-four-three, we copy that, all okay? 239 00:13:41,724 --> 00:13:43,310 But the loss of the plane's engines 240 00:13:43,413 --> 00:13:46,379 has had an unexpected consequence at air traffic control. 241 00:13:48,620 --> 00:13:49,517 They're gone. 242 00:13:50,241 --> 00:13:51,206 They were right here. 243 00:13:51,310 --> 00:13:53,034 We've lost them. He's dropped off the screen. 244 00:13:54,517 --> 00:13:55,758 I need primary radar. 245 00:14:01,586 --> 00:14:04,965 Uh, 143, we've lost your transponder return 246 00:14:05,068 --> 00:14:08,034 and are attempting to pick up your target now. 247 00:14:08,137 --> 00:14:11,931 We work on transponder, it's called secondary radar. 248 00:14:12,034 --> 00:14:16,000 We take the pilot's signal to paint the aircraft. 249 00:14:22,413 --> 00:14:25,172 Commercial jetliners are equipped with a transponder, 250 00:14:25,275 --> 00:14:27,551 a device that transmits coded information 251 00:14:27,655 --> 00:14:30,793 which air traffic controllers use to determine the plane's location. 252 00:14:32,103 --> 00:14:34,758 But when Flight 143 lost its second engine, 253 00:14:34,862 --> 00:14:37,344 only a small number of items got backup power. 254 00:14:38,758 --> 00:14:40,620 The transponder was not one of them, 255 00:14:40,724 --> 00:14:43,758 so the plane disappeared from Hewett's screen. 256 00:14:43,862 --> 00:14:46,655 Flight 143 is somewhere east of Winnipeg 257 00:14:46,758 --> 00:14:48,413 but no one knows exactly where 258 00:14:48,517 --> 00:14:50,862 or how far it is from the airport. 259 00:14:50,965 --> 00:14:52,689 In spite of its enormous weight, 260 00:14:52,793 --> 00:14:56,896 a 767 doesn't plunge from the sky when it loses its engines. 261 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:01,655 Its aerodynamic properties keep it in the air but slowly coasting to earth. 262 00:15:01,758 --> 00:15:04,137 And I was trying to figure 263 00:15:05,344 --> 00:15:09,137 how many miles we were moving ahead 264 00:15:09,241 --> 00:15:12,827 versus how many thousands of feet we were dropping. 265 00:15:15,689 --> 00:15:17,586 But Quintal doesn't have the instruments 266 00:15:17,689 --> 00:15:19,586 which provide the information he needs 267 00:15:19,689 --> 00:15:20,827 to make that calculation. 268 00:15:22,034 --> 00:15:23,689 Since he lost the plane's signal, 269 00:15:23,793 --> 00:15:27,103 Hewett can't give Quintal that information either. 270 00:15:27,206 --> 00:15:30,448 Controllers hurriedly work to rig up a way to find the plane. 271 00:15:33,758 --> 00:15:36,620 Just before landing you will hear the command, "Brace for landing." 272 00:15:36,724 --> 00:15:40,793 Brace immediately and stay braced until the plane comes to a complete stop. 273 00:15:41,620 --> 00:15:43,517 There are two ways to brace. 274 00:15:43,620 --> 00:15:48,517 One, bend forward, raise your arms and hands against the seat back... 275 00:15:48,620 --> 00:15:52,724 Bryce Bell is a businessman on his way home to Edmonton. 276 00:15:52,827 --> 00:15:54,379 As soon as they announced that we were making 277 00:15:54,482 --> 00:15:57,034 an unscheduled stop in Winnipeg, 278 00:15:57,137 --> 00:15:58,448 I immediately wished I hadn't had 279 00:15:58,551 --> 00:15:59,931 the two drinks that I'd had 280 00:16:00,034 --> 00:16:02,379 'cause I thought you're gonna have a split second here 281 00:16:02,482 --> 00:16:05,000 and this plane's gonna explode in flame 282 00:16:05,103 --> 00:16:07,413 and the decision you make in that split second 283 00:16:07,517 --> 00:16:08,655 will depend on how alert you are. 284 00:16:10,793 --> 00:16:13,551 Please put your personal belongings in the seat back pocket. 285 00:16:15,862 --> 00:16:18,137 The response of the passengers 286 00:16:18,241 --> 00:16:21,586 when we were doing the emergency briefing 287 00:16:23,068 --> 00:16:24,931 was basically alert. 288 00:16:25,034 --> 00:16:26,413 They were looking at us. 289 00:16:26,517 --> 00:16:30,551 They were paying attention to every word we were saying. 290 00:16:31,758 --> 00:16:34,103 I couldn't have had better passengers. 291 00:16:37,413 --> 00:16:39,931 I think that's him. Let's say that's him. 292 00:16:42,827 --> 00:16:46,827 Because their modern equipment can't see Air Canada 143, 293 00:16:46,931 --> 00:16:49,275 the controllers switch to old fashioned radar 294 00:16:49,379 --> 00:16:52,275 which doesn't need a transponder to locate planes. 295 00:16:52,379 --> 00:16:56,379 I gotta turn up my true radar, the reflective radar, 296 00:16:56,482 --> 00:16:58,689 which is not nearly as good 297 00:16:58,793 --> 00:17:01,137 and we don't use it at all if we can help it. 298 00:17:04,137 --> 00:17:08,862 Okay, I got it. Sixty-five from Winnipeg, forty-five from Gimli. 299 00:17:08,965 --> 00:17:12,758 Uh, 143, we have you at 65 miles from Winnipeg 300 00:17:12,862 --> 00:17:14,689 and approximately 45 miles from Gimli. 301 00:17:16,241 --> 00:17:18,241 For the first time since losing power, 302 00:17:18,344 --> 00:17:20,655 the pilots know their distance to Winnipeg. 303 00:17:22,517 --> 00:17:24,000 We might make Winnipeg. 304 00:17:26,137 --> 00:17:29,137 Quintal, however, thinks that Gimli is a safer bet. 305 00:17:31,620 --> 00:17:35,137 Gimli, Manitoba has a decommissioned air force base. 306 00:17:35,241 --> 00:17:37,758 It's about 20 miles closer than Winnipeg. 307 00:17:39,241 --> 00:17:41,827 As luck would have it, Maurice Quintal trained at Gimli 308 00:17:41,931 --> 00:17:43,379 while in the armed forces. 309 00:17:43,482 --> 00:17:44,724 He knows it well. 310 00:17:48,379 --> 00:17:51,862 Forty-five miles to Gimli. That is a long runway. 311 00:17:54,034 --> 00:17:56,241 Uh, is there emergency equipment at Gimli? 312 00:17:57,827 --> 00:17:59,896 Negative emergency equipment at all, 313 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:03,172 just one runway available, I believe, 314 00:18:03,275 --> 00:18:06,206 and uh, no control tower and no information on it. 315 00:18:06,310 --> 00:18:09,965 Pearson must consider the possibility of a crash landing. 316 00:18:10,068 --> 00:18:12,482 If he has any chance of making it to Winnipeg, 317 00:18:12,586 --> 00:18:16,724 which has full emergency support, he knows he must try for it. 318 00:18:16,827 --> 00:18:18,896 Okay then, we would prefer Winnipeg. 319 00:18:21,310 --> 00:18:23,172 Fine, 143, continue your present heading. 320 00:18:27,620 --> 00:18:32,172 We all reacted very business-like 321 00:18:32,275 --> 00:18:38,103 and say something specifically to the situation 322 00:18:38,206 --> 00:18:41,413 but never would we ever look at each other. 323 00:18:41,517 --> 00:18:44,413 I think we were all afraid that we might break down. 324 00:18:44,517 --> 00:18:45,827 Parents were hugging their little kids 325 00:18:45,931 --> 00:18:48,241 and people were busy scribbling away 326 00:18:48,344 --> 00:18:49,827 which I found out afterwards were... 327 00:18:49,931 --> 00:18:52,655 They were writing their notes to loved ones and their wills 328 00:18:52,758 --> 00:18:54,344 and all kinds of things like that. 329 00:18:54,448 --> 00:18:57,103 It was pretty nerve-wracking. 330 00:18:57,206 --> 00:18:59,586 One-four-three, a question if you have the time. 331 00:18:59,689 --> 00:19:00,689 Okay, go ahead. 332 00:19:02,206 --> 00:19:04,827 Total number of persons on board, please. 333 00:19:04,931 --> 00:19:07,689 The actual number of people on board is 69 334 00:19:07,793 --> 00:19:09,344 but Quintal is overtaxed. 335 00:19:09,448 --> 00:19:11,310 He gives a lower number in error. 336 00:19:11,413 --> 00:19:14,137 I have 33 people onboard, including the crew. 337 00:19:15,896 --> 00:19:17,137 Okay. 338 00:19:17,241 --> 00:19:19,310 I have to ask if souls onboard. 339 00:19:19,413 --> 00:19:23,000 Uh, I know he's busy, 340 00:19:23,103 --> 00:19:26,517 I don't want to ask him questions but I have to. 341 00:19:26,620 --> 00:19:30,000 This thing could go down in the lake or the field, 342 00:19:30,103 --> 00:19:33,103 um, and I remember thinking, 343 00:19:33,206 --> 00:19:37,241 "Great. I know this airplane carries about 300 people. 344 00:19:38,068 --> 00:19:41,137 "At least it's not 300." 345 00:19:41,241 --> 00:19:43,965 It was about regrets. It was about things I hadn't done in my life. 346 00:19:44,068 --> 00:19:46,896 It was about ways I'd treated the odd person here or there 347 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:48,827 that I wish I'd treated more gently. 348 00:19:48,931 --> 00:19:51,482 It was about how stupid I was at some of the things 349 00:19:51,586 --> 00:19:54,310 I used to make big issues out of that are so insignificant 350 00:19:54,413 --> 00:19:57,517 when it really comes down to what real reality is about. 351 00:19:57,620 --> 00:19:58,724 It was pretty devastating. 352 00:20:00,655 --> 00:20:04,758 And I remember telling a mother with a baby and I had... 353 00:20:13,862 --> 00:20:15,241 ...my daughter, Victoria, 354 00:20:16,758 --> 00:20:18,586 and telling this woman 355 00:20:18,689 --> 00:20:20,620 that it was gonna be okay and I did it. 356 00:20:20,724 --> 00:20:22,206 I did and I was so proud of myself 357 00:20:22,310 --> 00:20:24,689 that I could be so straight with her 358 00:20:26,241 --> 00:20:27,896 and tell her that it was gonna be all right 359 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:29,620 and really look at her in the eyes. 360 00:20:31,310 --> 00:20:33,758 Okay, how far from the field are we now? 361 00:20:33,862 --> 00:20:37,379 You are 35... Correction, make that 39 miles 362 00:20:37,482 --> 00:20:38,482 from Winnipeg. 363 00:20:38,586 --> 00:20:40,206 Roger. 364 00:20:40,310 --> 00:20:43,655 Now that controllers can see Flight 143 on radar, 365 00:20:43,758 --> 00:20:46,275 they can provide Quintal with the information he needs 366 00:20:46,379 --> 00:20:48,931 to figure out if he can glide as far as Winnipeg. 367 00:20:49,034 --> 00:20:50,517 Roger. What is your altitude now? 368 00:20:50,620 --> 00:20:51,655 Eight-point-five. 369 00:20:51,758 --> 00:20:53,310 Eight-point-five. 370 00:20:53,413 --> 00:20:55,793 About 8,500 feet above the ground, 371 00:20:55,896 --> 00:20:58,379 Captain Pearson can see his destination. 372 00:20:58,482 --> 00:21:01,551 Winnipeg's airport is less than 35 miles away. 373 00:21:01,655 --> 00:21:03,000 We have visual. 374 00:21:03,103 --> 00:21:05,000 But the news from Quintal is not good. 375 00:21:06,413 --> 00:21:07,413 Bob? 376 00:21:08,724 --> 00:21:13,551 Maurice was calmly keeping track of our distance 377 00:21:13,655 --> 00:21:16,379 by input from Winnipeg air traffic control 378 00:21:16,482 --> 00:21:18,241 and our altitude 379 00:21:18,344 --> 00:21:21,241 and he calculated our profile and came to the conclusion 380 00:21:21,344 --> 00:21:24,724 that we might not make the runway in Winnipeg. 381 00:21:24,827 --> 00:21:26,896 We can last maybe another 20 miles. 382 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,517 We... we're not gonna make Winnipeg. 383 00:21:29,620 --> 00:21:32,482 Quintal has calculated that at the rate they're falling, 384 00:21:32,586 --> 00:21:36,172 they would hit the ground a full 15 miles short of the runway. 385 00:21:36,275 --> 00:21:38,000 Uh, how far are we from Gimli? 386 00:21:41,241 --> 00:21:45,000 You're approximately 12 miles from Gimli right now. 387 00:21:45,103 --> 00:21:46,344 Uh where is it? 388 00:21:48,448 --> 00:21:49,689 Which way is he moving? 389 00:21:51,586 --> 00:21:53,896 On your right. Turn right to a heading 390 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:57,310 of three-four-five. 391 00:21:57,413 --> 00:21:59,517 I would say you have ten miles to fly. 392 00:21:59,620 --> 00:22:02,000 Okay, fine. We're gonna go there. 393 00:22:04,172 --> 00:22:05,862 I'm gonna go check on my family. 394 00:22:05,965 --> 00:22:08,000 You guys don't need me up here right now, huh? 395 00:22:08,103 --> 00:22:09,862 - No, no. We're okay. - Okay. 396 00:22:17,482 --> 00:22:19,896 Don't worry about it. Everything's okay. They got it under control. 397 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:21,862 Make sure your seat belts are tight, all right? 398 00:22:27,034 --> 00:22:30,137 When I went finally to sit down in my seat, 399 00:22:30,241 --> 00:22:34,862 this is where I thought, "Wow," you know, "This is it." 400 00:22:46,724 --> 00:22:49,310 - Landing gear down. - Roger. 401 00:22:49,413 --> 00:22:52,137 First Officer Quintal lowers the landing gear. 402 00:22:52,241 --> 00:22:53,965 Because there's no hydraulic power, 403 00:22:54,068 --> 00:22:56,448 Quintal does what's known as a "gravity drop", 404 00:22:56,551 --> 00:22:59,896 letting the gear's own weight drop and lock it into place. 405 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:01,758 The two main gear are heavy. 406 00:23:01,862 --> 00:23:06,034 They fall immediately and two green lights confirm they have locked. 407 00:23:06,137 --> 00:23:09,517 But the nose gear is lighter. It doesn't lock. 408 00:23:09,620 --> 00:23:14,620 We could hear the main gear clearly falling and locking. 409 00:23:14,724 --> 00:23:19,413 I was not aware that the nose gear was not down and locked. 410 00:23:19,517 --> 00:23:25,586 It was sort of last minute and if it's something that you cannot control, 411 00:23:25,689 --> 00:23:27,379 you don't talk of it. You don't mention it. 412 00:23:27,482 --> 00:23:31,931 You know, the main thing was bring the aircraft on the runway. 413 00:23:32,931 --> 00:23:35,448 - Five miles to touch down. - Roger. 414 00:23:35,551 --> 00:23:37,379 We have the field in sight. 415 00:23:37,482 --> 00:23:38,827 Five-miles from Gimli, 416 00:23:38,931 --> 00:23:42,482 Pearson and Quintal finally see a runway they can land on. 417 00:23:42,586 --> 00:23:44,448 But there is a problem. 418 00:23:44,551 --> 00:23:47,724 We're too close, huh? It's gonna be too steep, too fast. 419 00:23:48,517 --> 00:23:49,724 Yeah, I know. 420 00:23:52,517 --> 00:23:56,310 Pearson is almost at the runway but he's much too high above it. 421 00:23:56,413 --> 00:24:00,172 If he comes down at a normal descent rate, he'll miss the landing strip. 422 00:24:00,275 --> 00:24:05,448 But if he comes down steeply, his plane will gather a dangerous amount of speed. 423 00:24:05,551 --> 00:24:09,448 He won't be able to stop before the end of the runway. 424 00:24:09,551 --> 00:24:13,793 In the normal approach we have leading edge and trailing edge flaps 425 00:24:13,896 --> 00:24:16,482 which allow us to slow the airplane down 426 00:24:16,586 --> 00:24:19,034 and fly at a slower speed safely. 427 00:24:19,137 --> 00:24:21,241 We did not have those flaps 428 00:24:21,344 --> 00:24:23,896 as they run off the main hydraulic system. 429 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:25,758 So now what are we gonna do? 430 00:24:25,862 --> 00:24:28,586 So we discuss, we have two possibilities. 431 00:24:28,689 --> 00:24:31,689 One of them was to do a 360 degree turn 432 00:24:33,482 --> 00:24:37,517 and lose the excess of altitude. 433 00:24:37,620 --> 00:24:41,137 On the other hand, I thought it would take about three minutes 434 00:24:41,241 --> 00:24:43,344 and we were already 435 00:24:43,448 --> 00:24:47,000 descending at a rate of 2,500 feet a minute. 436 00:24:47,103 --> 00:24:49,344 Only about 3,000 feet above the ground, 437 00:24:49,448 --> 00:24:52,448 the plane doesn't have enough altitude to make a full circle. 438 00:24:52,551 --> 00:24:55,896 It would hit the ground before making it back to the landing strip. 439 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,586 Pearson chooses a second option. 440 00:24:58,689 --> 00:25:01,275 Well, I guess I'll just slip it. 441 00:25:05,689 --> 00:25:08,689 Pearson decides to try a maneuver called a "sideslip", 442 00:25:08,793 --> 00:25:11,137 practically unheard of on commercial airliners 443 00:25:11,241 --> 00:25:13,724 but sometimes used by glider pilots. 444 00:25:13,827 --> 00:25:17,931 And Bob Pearson has a lot of experience flying gliders. 445 00:25:18,034 --> 00:25:19,724 I'm just gonna slip it down to where we're almost down 446 00:25:19,827 --> 00:25:21,551 at the runway then I'll straighten out. 447 00:25:22,068 --> 00:25:22,965 Okay. 448 00:25:23,827 --> 00:25:25,068 Side-slipping involves 449 00:25:25,172 --> 00:25:27,034 what's known as "crossing the controls." 450 00:25:27,137 --> 00:25:28,689 Here we go. 451 00:25:28,793 --> 00:25:32,482 Pearson plans to force the aircraft into a sideways freefall, 452 00:25:32,586 --> 00:25:37,137 allowing it to drop quickly without increasing its forward airspeed. 453 00:25:37,241 --> 00:25:40,551 Pearson has never actually performed a sideslip in a glider 454 00:25:40,655 --> 00:25:45,379 but he's attempting one now, in a Boeing 767. 455 00:25:45,482 --> 00:25:48,689 The only way that I could control our speed 456 00:25:48,793 --> 00:25:51,413 and our descent profile with the runway 457 00:25:51,517 --> 00:25:53,827 was to induce drag in the fuselage 458 00:25:53,931 --> 00:25:58,034 by cross controlling the rudder and the elevators on the tail 459 00:25:58,137 --> 00:26:00,068 and the ailerons on the wing tips 460 00:26:00,172 --> 00:26:05,068 and cause the aircraft into a crab configuration. 461 00:26:05,172 --> 00:26:09,862 Then I can vary that to increase or decrease our speed 462 00:26:09,965 --> 00:26:12,965 or increase or decrease our descent rate. 463 00:26:13,068 --> 00:26:14,931 Pearson controls the plane's descent 464 00:26:15,034 --> 00:26:19,448 by using his rudders and ailerons to change the angle of the plane. 465 00:26:19,551 --> 00:26:22,689 Crossing the controls involves tipping the wings in one direction 466 00:26:22,793 --> 00:26:25,655 but turning the aircraft in the opposite direction, 467 00:26:25,758 --> 00:26:28,172 pushing it sideways into the oncoming air. 468 00:26:29,724 --> 00:26:33,172 As Flight 143 begins to drop towards the earth, 469 00:26:33,275 --> 00:26:36,241 Quintal is about to discover something he did not expect. 470 00:26:37,379 --> 00:26:40,068 The runway he trained at 15 years ago... 471 00:26:45,448 --> 00:26:47,172 ...is no longer a runway. 472 00:26:52,068 --> 00:26:58,241 Captain Bob Pearson is out of fuel, out of engines, out of options. 473 00:26:58,344 --> 00:27:02,172 If he can't line up with the runway at Gimli, he doesn't get a second chance. 474 00:27:08,517 --> 00:27:12,758 Pearson turns the yoke left and pushes the rudders to the right. 475 00:27:13,620 --> 00:27:17,103 The plane slips... to its left. 476 00:27:21,275 --> 00:27:24,655 We're sitting in the center which is the heart of the airplane where it starts, 477 00:27:24,758 --> 00:27:26,310 so, it's pretty solid there. 478 00:27:26,413 --> 00:27:30,275 I thought there's a real good chance here that we'll be all right. 479 00:27:32,310 --> 00:27:35,551 However, when he put the airplane into a sideslip, 480 00:27:35,655 --> 00:27:37,482 all that went out the window 'cause I figured, 481 00:27:37,586 --> 00:27:42,758 "Well, if he hits a wing or something and starts to catapult and roll, 482 00:27:42,862 --> 00:27:44,482 "that's not gonna work anymore." 483 00:27:44,586 --> 00:27:47,413 The 767 loses altitude quickly, 484 00:27:47,517 --> 00:27:49,517 plowing sideways through the air. 485 00:27:49,620 --> 00:27:53,172 When I looked to the left of the aircraft, 486 00:27:53,275 --> 00:27:55,103 I was looking directly at the ground 487 00:27:57,068 --> 00:28:00,862 because the airplane is angled quite... 488 00:28:00,965 --> 00:28:03,344 I don't know, about maybe 60 degrees of banks. 489 00:28:03,448 --> 00:28:05,551 The bank angle was quite high 490 00:28:05,655 --> 00:28:09,551 and the nose of the aircraft was quite high 491 00:28:09,655 --> 00:28:14,034 and it was an awkward moment and if it was awkward for me, 492 00:28:14,137 --> 00:28:19,137 I can imagine for the passengers, it must really have felt odd. 493 00:28:19,241 --> 00:28:22,206 I saw a sand trap from this golf course 494 00:28:22,310 --> 00:28:23,862 and I thought we're gonna crash. 495 00:28:26,413 --> 00:28:29,344 Pearson must maintain a crucial balance. 496 00:28:29,448 --> 00:28:32,448 He's got to slow the plane enough to be able to land safely, 497 00:28:32,551 --> 00:28:34,344 but if he slows down too much, 498 00:28:34,448 --> 00:28:37,724 the airliner could lose its lift and plummet to the ground. 499 00:28:37,827 --> 00:28:40,655 When a pilot is normally landing an airplane, 500 00:28:40,758 --> 00:28:42,827 he's maneuvering the flight controls 501 00:28:42,931 --> 00:28:44,965 and operating the thrust levers 502 00:28:46,241 --> 00:28:49,000 pretty continuously in most landings 503 00:28:49,103 --> 00:28:52,034 and so I was doing the same thing without the thrust levers. 504 00:28:56,586 --> 00:29:02,724 I swear I thought of my daughter Victoria being alone with my husband 505 00:29:02,827 --> 00:29:08,344 and how he was gonna cope with our daughter 506 00:29:08,448 --> 00:29:10,448 and how she was gonna cope without having a mom. 507 00:29:13,275 --> 00:29:18,896 As they approach, Pearson focuses on his target, the threshold of the runway. 508 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:22,586 I got tunnel vision like I've never had it before. 509 00:29:22,689 --> 00:29:28,482 It was just our speed and our relationship with the threshold of the runway. 510 00:29:28,586 --> 00:29:31,586 But now, only hundreds of feet from the ground, 511 00:29:31,689 --> 00:29:34,413 Quintal sees that their troubles are far from over. 512 00:29:37,344 --> 00:29:40,206 The Gimli landing strip has been converted... 513 00:29:44,103 --> 00:29:46,000 ...into a drag racing strip. 514 00:29:49,862 --> 00:29:53,931 Today is Saturday, and it's not just a race day. 515 00:29:54,034 --> 00:29:56,241 It's a family day on the Gimli strip. 516 00:29:57,862 --> 00:30:00,482 Racing is done for the day. 517 00:30:00,586 --> 00:30:04,000 But the airfield is filled with members of the local sports car club 518 00:30:06,275 --> 00:30:08,793 camping out with their families for the weekend. 519 00:30:14,586 --> 00:30:17,689 Two children have decided to pedal the length of the runway. 520 00:30:18,896 --> 00:30:21,310 They don't hear the plane coming for them. 521 00:30:21,413 --> 00:30:24,137 Without engines it's silent. 522 00:30:24,241 --> 00:30:29,275 And one thing the 767 doesn't have... is a horn. 523 00:30:29,379 --> 00:30:31,379 Brace. Brace for landing. 524 00:30:42,379 --> 00:30:44,620 The nose hit with quite a bang on the runway. 525 00:30:44,724 --> 00:30:46,896 It sounded like a shotgun going off at our feet. 526 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:49,586 The front landing gear gives out immediately. 527 00:30:49,689 --> 00:30:52,689 Pearson brakes hard. Two tires blow out. 528 00:30:54,517 --> 00:30:56,965 The bottom of the right engine scrapes the runway. 529 00:30:57,068 --> 00:31:00,379 I was a robot. There was just no emotion at all. 530 00:31:00,482 --> 00:31:03,413 Finally, Pearson sees what's in their path. 531 00:31:03,517 --> 00:31:06,758 And I looked up and I could see two boys on bicycles 532 00:31:06,862 --> 00:31:10,517 and they must have been probably about 1,000 feet down the runway 533 00:31:10,620 --> 00:31:12,517 from our position when I saw them. 534 00:31:12,620 --> 00:31:17,724 And then at one point I could see he raised his head and he's surprised. 535 00:31:17,827 --> 00:31:20,344 Here's this big aircraft. 536 00:31:20,448 --> 00:31:23,758 And I can still remember the look of terror on their faces. 537 00:31:23,862 --> 00:31:25,896 So, they were close enough for me to see that. 538 00:31:28,724 --> 00:31:30,413 With no nose gear to steer with, 539 00:31:30,517 --> 00:31:33,379 Pearson's only hope of driving the plane left or right 540 00:31:33,482 --> 00:31:36,758 is by varying the brake pressure on the two main landing gear. 541 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:39,724 That's when my heart started 542 00:31:39,827 --> 00:31:42,137 to pitter-patter a little bit. 543 00:31:42,241 --> 00:31:44,827 The kids panic and try to outrun a plane 544 00:31:44,931 --> 00:31:47,310 that's traveling about 200 miles an hour. 545 00:31:47,413 --> 00:31:50,000 I knew I couldn't take the airplane into these boys 546 00:31:50,103 --> 00:31:54,344 and I was gonna take it off into the grass on the right side. 547 00:31:54,448 --> 00:31:58,448 There were campers along the west side of the runway 548 00:31:58,551 --> 00:32:02,068 that I didn't notice until after we'd touched down 549 00:32:02,172 --> 00:32:04,034 and the nose was on the ground 550 00:32:04,137 --> 00:32:09,482 and I can still remember at the left side people standing by their barbecues. 551 00:32:09,586 --> 00:32:14,068 Dino Calvert is at the track with his friends for a weekend of racing. 552 00:32:14,172 --> 00:32:15,448 One of the gentlemen in the pits 553 00:32:15,551 --> 00:32:17,551 suddenly jumped in his car, and he took off 554 00:32:19,034 --> 00:32:20,827 and I thought, "Well, you don't drive like that 555 00:32:20,931 --> 00:32:22,689 "in the pits usually," 556 00:32:22,793 --> 00:32:26,827 and I looked up and all I could see was smoke rising. 557 00:32:26,931 --> 00:32:30,275 Pearson does all he can to stop the plane in time. 558 00:32:30,379 --> 00:32:31,482 Holy crow! 559 00:32:38,103 --> 00:32:41,862 The plane plows into a guardrail installed down the middle of the runway. 560 00:32:41,965 --> 00:32:42,793 Smoke, Bob. 561 00:32:52,448 --> 00:32:54,689 Seventeen minutes after running out of fuel, 562 00:32:54,793 --> 00:32:59,103 Air Canada Flight 143 comes to a final stop on the ground. 563 00:32:59,206 --> 00:33:01,793 Yeah? You okay? 564 00:33:01,896 --> 00:33:06,068 Somebody yelled "yahoo" or something and people started applauding 565 00:33:06,172 --> 00:33:09,103 and we were so grateful, we made it. 566 00:33:09,206 --> 00:33:12,379 When you believe that you're gonna crash, 567 00:33:12,482 --> 00:33:16,310 you do believe that the airplane is gonna break apart, 568 00:33:16,413 --> 00:33:18,827 you're gonna have fire. 569 00:33:18,931 --> 00:33:20,310 Evacuate! Evacuate! 570 00:33:20,413 --> 00:33:21,620 Evacuate! 571 00:33:21,724 --> 00:33:23,137 All right, let's go. We gotta get off the plane. 572 00:33:23,241 --> 00:33:25,448 Thick smoke is quickly filling the cabin. 573 00:33:25,551 --> 00:33:27,551 The crew doesn't take any chances. 574 00:33:27,655 --> 00:33:30,896 They want everyone off the plane as quickly as possible. 575 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:34,241 There was a sense of joy and then a panic kind of... 576 00:33:34,344 --> 00:33:37,034 It seemed to go in waves and then a panic saying, "We gotta get out of here, 577 00:33:37,137 --> 00:33:38,103 "we gotta get out of here." 578 00:33:39,517 --> 00:33:41,206 Less than two months earlier, 579 00:33:41,310 --> 00:33:45,965 an Air Canada DC-9 made a successful emergency landing in Cincinnati 580 00:33:46,068 --> 00:33:48,206 only to burst into flames on the tarmac 581 00:33:48,310 --> 00:33:50,793 before all the passengers could get off. 582 00:33:50,896 --> 00:33:53,344 Twenty-three people died. 583 00:33:53,448 --> 00:33:57,000 The crew and passengers of this flight want to avoid a similar fate. 584 00:33:58,793 --> 00:34:01,241 It took maybe just a few seconds 585 00:34:01,344 --> 00:34:03,551 to come up to a full halt on the runway 586 00:34:03,655 --> 00:34:07,310 but the cockpit was full of smoke. 587 00:34:07,413 --> 00:34:09,000 Passenger evacuation checklist. 588 00:34:09,103 --> 00:34:12,482 Passenger checklist. Fuel shut off. 589 00:34:12,586 --> 00:34:13,620 Off. 590 00:34:13,724 --> 00:34:15,724 Cabin pressurized. 591 00:34:15,827 --> 00:34:18,000 - Electrics off. - Electrics off. 592 00:34:18,103 --> 00:34:20,000 - Checklist complete. - Time to get out of here. 593 00:34:25,862 --> 00:34:27,862 Come on, guys, get some fire extinguishers. 594 00:34:27,965 --> 00:34:30,827 We grabbed the fire extinguishers on our way 595 00:34:30,931 --> 00:34:34,275 and you never go to a fire at a racetrack without having a fire extinguisher with you 596 00:34:35,103 --> 00:34:38,068 and we ran up towards it. 597 00:34:38,172 --> 00:34:43,137 The doors open up and you see the chutes come out sort of like a spider growing legs. 598 00:34:43,241 --> 00:34:46,206 The plane ended up eventually standing almost 599 00:34:46,310 --> 00:34:49,586 what would appear to me to be almost on its nose. 600 00:34:49,689 --> 00:34:54,172 When I opened my door and I saw that the chute was so steep, 601 00:34:54,275 --> 00:34:59,517 I thought, "Oh, my goodness. How do I get these passengers to go down?" 602 00:34:59,620 --> 00:35:02,172 Due to the nose-down angle of the plane, 603 00:35:02,275 --> 00:35:04,379 the two rear slides don't reach the ground. 604 00:35:07,931 --> 00:35:11,172 Ten people are slightly injured during the evacuation, 605 00:35:11,275 --> 00:35:14,000 most of them coming down the steep rear slides. 606 00:35:14,103 --> 00:35:18,034 I heard on the west radar frequency, he said... 607 00:35:18,137 --> 00:35:23,896 One of the 767's says, "He's down okay. He's in one piece." 608 00:35:24,931 --> 00:35:28,137 And that's when our cheer went up. 609 00:35:29,931 --> 00:35:31,275 I said, "Okay," 610 00:35:32,931 --> 00:35:35,862 because all of these people were gonna sleep 611 00:35:35,965 --> 00:35:37,724 in their own bed that night. 612 00:35:45,034 --> 00:35:47,931 There's still a lot of smoke coming from the plane's nose. 613 00:35:51,448 --> 00:35:53,931 It turned out it was about six inches of insulation 614 00:35:54,034 --> 00:35:56,379 between the inner and outer skin 615 00:35:56,482 --> 00:35:59,241 from friction that was starting to burn. 616 00:35:59,344 --> 00:36:01,517 The flight attendants have good news. 617 00:36:01,620 --> 00:36:04,344 All 61 passengers have made it off the plane. 618 00:36:04,448 --> 00:36:07,655 There's not so much as a single serious injury. 619 00:36:07,758 --> 00:36:09,758 - We'll give you a hand. - Yeah, the extinguisher. 620 00:36:16,241 --> 00:36:19,620 Bob Pearson has done what no one has done before. 621 00:36:19,724 --> 00:36:23,034 He safely landed a 767 with no engines, 622 00:36:23,137 --> 00:36:26,206 gliding to safety from more than 26,000 feet. 623 00:36:34,931 --> 00:36:37,379 Air Canada Flight 143 glided... 624 00:36:37,482 --> 00:36:40,448 The event makes international headlines immediately. 625 00:36:40,551 --> 00:36:41,931 People are already asking 626 00:36:42,034 --> 00:36:45,068 how one of the most sophisticated passenger planes in the world 627 00:36:45,172 --> 00:36:46,896 could have run out of fuel. 628 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:48,103 ...by sliding down emergency chutes. 629 00:36:53,379 --> 00:36:57,172 By the next day, the investigation has already begun. 630 00:36:57,275 --> 00:37:01,758 Bill Taylor and Diane Rocheleau of Canada's Aviation Safety Bureau 631 00:37:01,862 --> 00:37:04,620 are among the first investigators at the scene. 632 00:37:04,724 --> 00:37:06,689 I was a junior mechanical engineer at the time. 633 00:37:06,793 --> 00:37:09,793 I had been working for Transport Canada for a year. 634 00:37:09,896 --> 00:37:11,206 Going to the field for the first time 635 00:37:11,310 --> 00:37:12,620 was very exciting. 636 00:37:12,724 --> 00:37:16,586 It was new, it was a major aircraft. 637 00:37:16,689 --> 00:37:20,103 Once we got into the fuel quantity indicating system, 638 00:37:20,206 --> 00:37:23,344 I actually left Diane 639 00:37:23,448 --> 00:37:27,862 to deal with the specifics of the computer system. 640 00:37:27,965 --> 00:37:29,965 First, Bill Taylor needs to confirm 641 00:37:30,068 --> 00:37:32,137 what everyone has been telling him, 642 00:37:32,241 --> 00:37:33,862 that the plane is out of fuel. 643 00:37:35,586 --> 00:37:40,931 Investigators drain the tanks, collecting less than 17 gallons of fuel. 644 00:37:41,034 --> 00:37:45,793 The 767 can hold almost 24,000 gallons. 645 00:37:45,896 --> 00:37:49,482 It's like having five tablespoons of fuel in a mid-sized car. 646 00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:53,172 Taylor next needs to examine the possibility 647 00:37:53,275 --> 00:37:55,620 that the fuel leaked out during the flight. 648 00:37:55,724 --> 00:37:57,965 The other checks involved looking for 649 00:37:58,068 --> 00:38:00,137 any evidence of fuel having been lost. 650 00:38:01,172 --> 00:38:02,758 We even went so far as to go into 651 00:38:02,862 --> 00:38:07,137 what they call the dry bay of the aircraft. 652 00:38:07,241 --> 00:38:12,655 I'm a bit claustrophobic, so I really wasn't too enthused about going up in there 653 00:38:12,758 --> 00:38:16,517 but I crawled up and had a look around with a flashlight 654 00:38:16,620 --> 00:38:20,310 and confirmed that there was no evidence of fuel having been lost in there. 655 00:38:22,206 --> 00:38:24,517 That leaves Taylor with only one conclusion. 656 00:38:24,620 --> 00:38:27,793 Flight 143 took off without enough fuel. 657 00:38:27,896 --> 00:38:30,172 Now investigators need to find out why. 658 00:38:30,275 --> 00:38:32,586 I can't believe it's in one piece. 659 00:38:32,689 --> 00:38:35,758 Diane Rocheleau begins looking for the answer to that question 660 00:38:35,862 --> 00:38:40,931 in the plane's sophisticated electronics bay located beneath the cabin. 661 00:38:41,034 --> 00:38:43,931 The 767 was a newer type aircraft 662 00:38:44,034 --> 00:38:46,931 and it did have a lot of computerized system 663 00:38:47,034 --> 00:38:52,034 and I guess back in 1982, these were coming on to the market at a fast rate 664 00:38:52,137 --> 00:38:55,551 and they were newer types of electronic system. 665 00:38:58,413 --> 00:39:01,241 Rocheleau confirms that a computerized unit, 666 00:39:01,344 --> 00:39:03,344 the digital fuel gauge processor, 667 00:39:03,448 --> 00:39:06,310 had been malfunctioning on this plane. 668 00:39:06,413 --> 00:39:09,310 There was no spare in Montreal, so it couldn't be replaced. 669 00:39:11,206 --> 00:39:14,000 Rocheleau takes the component for testing. 670 00:39:14,103 --> 00:39:17,310 It was decided early on that the unit, the fuel processing unit 671 00:39:17,413 --> 00:39:22,034 would be taken to the manufacturer Honeywell in Indianapolis for testing 672 00:39:22,137 --> 00:39:25,344 and I was tasked with taking the unit, 673 00:39:25,448 --> 00:39:28,206 so we went through all the testing procedure 674 00:39:28,310 --> 00:39:29,931 and then at one point we did discover 675 00:39:30,034 --> 00:39:32,758 that there was a malfunction with the unit. 676 00:39:32,862 --> 00:39:35,241 During the testing, we went more and more in depth 677 00:39:35,344 --> 00:39:39,896 and we found out that one of the circuit, it's called an inductor coil, 678 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:44,620 it was a very, very small part and it was encapsulated at manufacture. 679 00:39:44,724 --> 00:39:47,068 And encapsulated means it's covered with plastic. 680 00:39:47,172 --> 00:39:50,344 You cannot visually see it because it's now covered with plastic 681 00:39:50,448 --> 00:39:53,206 and you can't see the inductor coil itself 682 00:39:53,310 --> 00:39:56,137 but once we took over the plastic case 683 00:39:56,241 --> 00:39:59,482 we could see that the solder joint had not been made properly 684 00:39:59,586 --> 00:40:01,896 which caused a malfunction in the system. 685 00:40:04,758 --> 00:40:06,517 The faulty processor explains 686 00:40:06,620 --> 00:40:09,724 why Pearson didn't have fuel gauges for the flight 687 00:40:09,827 --> 00:40:13,206 but doesn't explain why he didn't have enough fuel. 688 00:40:13,310 --> 00:40:15,655 The inoperative gauges were clearly flagged. 689 00:40:17,137 --> 00:40:18,793 Ground crews wouldn't have relied on them 690 00:40:18,896 --> 00:40:20,344 when they were fueling the plane. 691 00:40:21,620 --> 00:40:23,793 Investigators confirm that the ground crew 692 00:40:23,896 --> 00:40:26,862 did perform a manual check of the fuel before takeoff. 693 00:40:29,620 --> 00:40:31,275 We just need to know what you did next. 694 00:40:31,379 --> 00:40:34,517 Yeah? We did a manual check of both tanks 695 00:40:36,344 --> 00:40:39,551 and then we pump enough fuel for the trip to Edmonton. 696 00:40:39,655 --> 00:40:43,724 Flight 143 should have taken off with enough fuel for the trip. 697 00:40:43,827 --> 00:40:44,724 Okay, thanks. 698 00:40:47,551 --> 00:40:48,448 That helps. 699 00:41:01,689 --> 00:41:03,655 Investigators now have to figure out 700 00:41:03,758 --> 00:41:07,551 how one of the world's most advanced jetliners 701 00:41:07,655 --> 00:41:10,517 took off with half the fuel necessary for its flight. 702 00:41:16,965 --> 00:41:20,413 The investigators know that with its fuel gauges out of service, 703 00:41:20,517 --> 00:41:23,965 Flight 143's fuel tanks were checked manually. 704 00:41:24,068 --> 00:41:27,034 Then the fuel for the trip to Edmonton was added to the tanks. 705 00:41:33,103 --> 00:41:35,620 But before the plane could be given more fuel, 706 00:41:35,724 --> 00:41:38,000 a crucial calculation had to be carried out. 707 00:41:41,827 --> 00:41:44,517 Pilots need to know the weight of the fuel on their plane, 708 00:41:47,068 --> 00:41:49,517 but fuel trucks pump jet fuel by volume. 709 00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:57,827 In order for pilots and fuelers to communicate, 710 00:41:57,931 --> 00:42:01,758 a simple routine translation between volume and weight has to be made. 711 00:42:07,620 --> 00:42:08,482 Thank you. 712 00:42:16,586 --> 00:42:19,655 Investigators check and double-check that math. 713 00:42:27,310 --> 00:42:29,586 The fueling records from the day of the accident 714 00:42:29,689 --> 00:42:31,827 provide the answers they have been looking for. 715 00:42:37,896 --> 00:42:40,448 This is a typical fueling record. 716 00:42:40,551 --> 00:42:42,206 But when investigators examine 717 00:42:42,310 --> 00:42:45,000 the calculations for Flight 143... 718 00:42:45,103 --> 00:42:49,275 And this is from Flight 143. 719 00:42:49,379 --> 00:42:52,379 ...they look anything but straightforward. 720 00:42:52,482 --> 00:42:57,034 The document clearly shows the amount of fuel in the right and left tanks. 721 00:42:57,137 --> 00:43:00,103 But investigators are troubled by two particular numbers. 722 00:43:01,068 --> 00:43:03,965 One converts volume to kilograms, 723 00:43:04,068 --> 00:43:05,965 the other converts it to pounds. 724 00:43:06,068 --> 00:43:07,586 He shouldn't have been using both. 725 00:43:12,586 --> 00:43:15,344 So did you convert to pounds or to kilograms? 726 00:43:15,793 --> 00:43:16,758 To pound. 727 00:43:19,034 --> 00:43:20,413 No, to... to kilo. 728 00:43:24,793 --> 00:43:26,931 Can I see that again? 729 00:43:27,034 --> 00:43:29,482 Further interviews with the technicians and crew 730 00:43:29,586 --> 00:43:32,103 reveal that the events on Flight 143... 731 00:43:33,068 --> 00:43:34,793 I don't know what I did. 732 00:43:34,896 --> 00:43:38,448 ...were caused by human error involving poor calculations 733 00:43:38,551 --> 00:43:40,724 and ultimately inadequate training. 734 00:43:42,655 --> 00:43:44,068 Okay, fellows, we've finished the fueling... 735 00:43:44,172 --> 00:43:46,827 The technicians refueling Flight 143 736 00:43:46,931 --> 00:43:48,827 got muddled in their calculations 737 00:43:48,931 --> 00:43:51,689 while converting the volume coming out of the fuel truck 738 00:43:51,793 --> 00:43:53,896 to the weight of the fuel in the plane's tanks. 739 00:43:56,206 --> 00:44:00,000 No one who saw the calculations that day noticed the basic error. 740 00:44:04,724 --> 00:44:07,793 In 1983, Canadian ground crews were used 741 00:44:07,896 --> 00:44:09,206 to converting the amount of fuel 742 00:44:09,310 --> 00:44:11,000 leaving their trucks into pounds. 743 00:44:14,413 --> 00:44:19,724 The 767 was the first plane in Air Canada's fleet to have metric fuel gauges. 744 00:44:23,827 --> 00:44:27,068 It's fuel should've been measured not in pounds but in kilograms, 745 00:44:27,172 --> 00:44:29,068 which requires a different calculation. 746 00:44:32,482 --> 00:44:38,586 Flight 143 needed 22,300 kilograms of fuel for the trip, 747 00:44:38,689 --> 00:44:44,000 but pilots and technicians let it leave with 22,300 pounds instead. 748 00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:48,137 Because a pound is about half-a-kilogram, 749 00:44:48,241 --> 00:44:51,137 the plane only got half the fuel it required, 750 00:44:51,241 --> 00:44:55,517 which explains why Pearson's flight computer told him he had plenty of fuel. 751 00:44:55,620 --> 00:44:58,896 He entered the wrong amount of fuel to start with. 752 00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:02,655 In the past, the flight engineer calculated the fuel loads. 753 00:45:02,758 --> 00:45:05,517 This accident raised an important question, 754 00:45:05,620 --> 00:45:07,931 "Whose job was it with the two-man crew?" 755 00:45:09,103 --> 00:45:12,655 Better training is definitely an issue 756 00:45:12,758 --> 00:45:14,724 in an incident such as that. 757 00:45:14,827 --> 00:45:17,275 If everyone is trained 758 00:45:17,379 --> 00:45:23,724 and the lines are drawn as to who's responsible for what, 759 00:45:23,827 --> 00:45:28,551 then there's no ambiguity on it. 760 00:45:28,655 --> 00:45:31,241 People know what they're responsible for. 761 00:45:31,344 --> 00:45:35,241 In this case, it was sort of open-ended. 762 00:45:35,344 --> 00:45:38,034 We weren't aware who was responsible 763 00:45:38,137 --> 00:45:41,068 for the final say on this fuel stuff. 764 00:45:43,206 --> 00:45:44,724 A subsequent inquiry 765 00:45:44,827 --> 00:45:46,620 found that none of those involved that day 766 00:45:46,724 --> 00:45:49,103 was trained in metric calculations. 767 00:45:49,206 --> 00:45:51,689 Not the ground technicians, not the pilots. 768 00:45:54,482 --> 00:45:56,965 I had not received any... 769 00:45:57,068 --> 00:46:00,275 Neither of us had received any training at all 770 00:46:00,379 --> 00:46:03,310 on doing these calculations. 771 00:46:03,413 --> 00:46:07,241 The computer that had replaced the 767's flight engineer was broken, 772 00:46:07,344 --> 00:46:09,896 and no one knew who should be doing its job. 773 00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:13,551 Air Canada 143 was essentially down a man. 774 00:46:13,655 --> 00:46:14,965 And the goal is to prevent 775 00:46:15,068 --> 00:46:17,413 a recurrence of this particular event 776 00:46:17,517 --> 00:46:19,931 and also we find out other system 777 00:46:20,034 --> 00:46:22,172 that might have been either at fault 778 00:46:22,275 --> 00:46:25,275 or maybe they could cause a problem in the future 779 00:46:25,379 --> 00:46:27,103 and you do try to prevent recurrence. 780 00:46:31,862 --> 00:46:33,379 All right! 781 00:46:33,482 --> 00:46:36,344 It took a string of mechanical and human failures 782 00:46:36,448 --> 00:46:39,413 for Flight 143 to run out of fuel. 783 00:46:39,517 --> 00:46:42,517 But another failure that day may have saved some lives. 784 00:46:45,172 --> 00:46:47,586 If the plane's nose gear had not collapsed, 785 00:46:47,689 --> 00:46:50,931 it would have taken Pearson much longer to stop. 786 00:46:51,034 --> 00:46:54,724 The plane could have slid into the people who were at the strip that day, 787 00:46:54,827 --> 00:46:57,620 which would have had catastrophic results. 788 00:46:57,724 --> 00:47:00,689 There could have been more injuries or even loss of life. 789 00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:08,241 Pearson and Quintal were partly blamed for their roles in the incident. 790 00:47:08,344 --> 00:47:11,724 A government inquiry recommended that Air Canada reevaluate 791 00:47:11,827 --> 00:47:17,206 the training of flight crews and ground technicians in metric fuel conversions. 792 00:47:17,310 --> 00:47:20,758 It also recommended that the airline keep more spare parts, 793 00:47:20,862 --> 00:47:22,482 such as fuel gauge processors. 794 00:47:25,275 --> 00:47:27,689 Rick Dion retired in 2003 795 00:47:27,793 --> 00:47:33,137 after a long career as Air Canada's coordinator of maintenance control. 796 00:47:33,241 --> 00:47:38,413 First Officer Maurice Quintal was promoted to captain in 1989. 797 00:47:38,517 --> 00:47:42,137 Captain Bob Pearson went on to fly ten more years for Air Canada, 798 00:47:42,241 --> 00:47:46,551 his experience at Gimli shaping the rest of his career as a commercial pilot. 799 00:47:46,655 --> 00:47:50,758 This experience affected me mostly by giving me... 800 00:47:50,862 --> 00:47:52,413 Making me more relaxed as a pilot, 801 00:47:52,517 --> 00:47:54,034 giving me the feeling that 802 00:47:54,137 --> 00:47:57,551 as much as I've trained for all those years 803 00:47:57,655 --> 00:48:01,724 that there's always that question about how you're gonna perform 804 00:48:01,827 --> 00:48:05,724 when the chips are down and I now have the feeling that no matter what, 805 00:48:05,827 --> 00:48:07,448 as long as an aircraft stays together, 806 00:48:07,551 --> 00:48:09,482 I would get it safely back on the ground 807 00:48:09,586 --> 00:48:11,965 and so it's been a relaxing experience. 808 00:48:13,827 --> 00:48:17,931 It's the knowledge that you know under stress you can perform. 809 00:48:19,068 --> 00:48:20,827 Before that you don't know. 810 00:48:20,931 --> 00:48:23,000 You just hope you will and you train, 811 00:48:23,103 --> 00:48:25,931 you train for it but you never know. 812 00:48:26,034 --> 00:48:30,310 With the things that they had to deal with, it was magnificent. 813 00:48:30,413 --> 00:48:34,586 I think it got proven in the simulator in Vancouver. 814 00:48:34,689 --> 00:48:37,827 They tried out these same circumstances 815 00:48:37,931 --> 00:48:40,827 with several crews and they all crashed. 816 00:48:42,655 --> 00:48:45,758 Probably the most important thing that came out of it was the realization 817 00:48:45,862 --> 00:48:49,689 that when something new is introduced, 818 00:48:49,793 --> 00:48:55,379 special attention and training needs to be accomplished 819 00:48:55,482 --> 00:48:57,862 for people to be aware of what they're dealing with. 820 00:48:57,965 --> 00:49:01,620 When we had landed and the airplane was all in one piece, 821 00:49:01,724 --> 00:49:06,137 I thought, "Wow, I got another chance to fly again." 822 00:49:06,241 --> 00:49:07,413 Because of a tragedy like that, 823 00:49:07,517 --> 00:49:08,551 once you take your deck of cards 824 00:49:08,655 --> 00:49:11,758 and fire it in the air, you're truly free 825 00:49:11,862 --> 00:49:14,758 and I guess from that point of view, I could... 826 00:49:14,862 --> 00:49:17,034 I find it very difficult to say but Gimli was... 827 00:49:17,137 --> 00:49:19,379 Maybe almost the best thing that ever happened to me, 828 00:49:19,482 --> 00:49:21,448 next to meeting my wonderful wife and marrying her. 829 00:49:23,931 --> 00:49:26,034 Two days after the landing at Gimli, 830 00:49:26,137 --> 00:49:31,000 Air Canada's 767 was back in the air on its way to Winnipeg for repairs. 831 00:49:32,758 --> 00:49:37,034 A quarter century later, that same plane is still in service 832 00:49:37,137 --> 00:49:40,724 and it still carries the nickname that Bob Pearson earned it... 833 00:49:40,827 --> 00:49:42,068 The Gimli Glider.