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In 1983 an Air Canada Boeing 767 ran out of fuel at 12,500 metres because its fuel had been worked out in pounds instead of kilograms. The pilots glided it down and landed on a disused runway that had become a racetrack.

Gimli, Manitoba, 23 July 1983

TechnologyHistory

The story behind the card

Canada was switching to metric units, and the new 767 was among the first Air Canada planes to measure fuel in kilograms. The ground crew used the conversion factor for pounds, so the plane took off with less than half the fuel it needed, and both engines stopped over Manitoba. Captain Bob Pearson happened to be an experienced glider pilot, and first officer Maurice Quintal remembered a former air force base at Gimli where he had once served. One of its runways was now a drag-racing strip, with a race day under way. The nose wheel collapsed on landing and the plane stopped before reaching the people there. Nobody was seriously hurt, and the aircraft, nicknamed the Gimli Glider, flew for Air Canada until 2008.

Türkçe oku
1983'te bir Air Canada Boeing 767'si, yakıtı kilogram yerine libreyle hesaplandığı için 12.500 metre yükseklikte yakıtsız kaldı. Pilotlar uçağı süzülerek alçalttı ve yarış pistine dönüştürülmüş eski bir havaalanı pistine indirdi.
Gimli, Manitoba, 23 Temmuz 1983

Kanada o yıllarda metrik sisteme geçiyordu ve yeni 767, Air Canada'nın yakıtı kilogramla ölçen ilk uçaklarındandı. Yer ekibi hesapta libre katsayısını kullanınca uçak, ihtiyacının yarısından az yakıtla havalandı ve Manitoba üzerinde iki motoru da durdu. Kaptan Bob Pearson'ın deneyimli bir planör pilotu olması büyük şanstı. İkinci pilot Maurice Quintal ise bir zamanlar görev yaptığı Gimli'deki eski hava üssünü hatırladı. Üssün pistlerinden biri artık drag yarışlarına ayrılmıştı ve o gün orada yarış vardı. İnişte burun tekerleği çöktü, uçak oradaki insanlara ulaşmadan durdu. Kimse ağır yaralanmadı. “Gimli Planörü” diye anılan uçak, 2008'e kadar Air Canada'da uçmaya devam etti.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Gimli Glider
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