Air Transat Flight 236 was a

transatlantic flight A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Central America, or South America, or ''vice versa''. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing air ...

bound for Lisbon, Portugal, from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Canada, that lost all engine power while flying over the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

on August 24, 2001. The

Airbus A330 The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...

ran out of fuel due to a fuel leak caused by improper maintenance. Captain Robert Piché, 48, an experienced

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

pilot, and First Officer Dirk DeJager, 28, glided the plane to a successful

emergency landing An emergency landing is a premature landing made by an aircraft in response to an emergency involving an imminent or ongoing threat to the safety and operation of the aircraft, or involving a sudden need for a passenger or crew on board to term ...

in the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

, saving all 306 people (293 passengers and 13 crew) on board. Most of the passengers on the flight were Canadians visiting Europe or Portuguese

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

s returning to visit family in Portugal. This was also the longest passenger aircraft glide without engines, gliding for nearly . Following this unusual aviation accident, this aircraft was nicknamed the "Azores Glider".

Incident

Flight TS 236 took off from Toronto at 00:52 ( UTC) on Friday, August 24, 2001 (local time: 20:52 ( ET) on Thursday, August 23), bound for Lisbon, Portugal, with 293 passengers and 13

crew A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the tasks involved ...

on board. The flight was flown by Captain Robert Piché, who had 16,800 hours of flight experience (with 796 of them on the Airbus A330), and First Officer Dirk DeJager, who had 4,800 flight hours (including 386 hours on the Airbus A330). The aircraft was a two-year-old Airbus A330-243 registered as that first flew on March 17, 1999, configured with 362 seats and placed in service by Air Transat on April 28, 1999. It was powered by two

Rolls-Royce Trent The Rolls-Royce Trent is a family of high-bypass turbofans produced by Rolls-Royce. It continues the three spool architecture of the RB211 with a maximum thrust ranging from . Launched as the RB-211-524L in June 1988, the prototype first r ...

772B-60 engines capable of delivering

thrust Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that sys ...

each. Leaving the gate in Toronto, the aircraft had 46.9 tonnes of fuel on board, 4.5 tonnes more than required by regulations. At 04:38 UTC (almost four hours into the flight), the aircraft began to leak fuel through a fracture that had developed in a fuel line to the no. 2 (right) engine. At 05:03 UTC, more than four hours into the flight, the pilots noticed low oil temperature and high oil pressure on engine no. 2. Although these readings were an indirect result of the fuel leak, the pilots had no reason to consider that as a cause. Consequently, Captain Piché suspected they were false warnings and shared that opinion with Air Transat maintenance control centre in Montreal, which advised them to monitor the situation. At 05:36 UTC, the pilots received a warning of fuel imbalance. Still unaware of the fuel leak, they followed a standard procedure to remedy the imbalance by transferring fuel from the left wing tank to the right wing tank. The transferred fuel was lost through the fractured fuel line, which was leaking at about one gallon per second. This caused a higher-than-normal fuel flow through the fuel-oil heat exchanger, which in turn led to a drop in oil temperature and a rise in oil pressure for the no. 2 engine. At 05:45 UTC, the pilots decided to divert to

Lajes Air Base Lajes Field or Lajes Air Base (; pt, Base Aérea das Lajes), officially designated Air Base No. 4 (''Base Aérea Nº 4'', BA4) , is a multi-use airfield near Lajes and northeast of Angra do Heroísmo on Terceira Island in the Azores, Portug ...

in the

. They declared a fuel emergency with Santa Maria Oceanic air traffic control three minutes later. At 06:13 UTC, while still from Lajes and at , engine no. 2 flamed out due to fuel starvation. Piché then initiated a descent to , which was the proper single-engine altitude for the weight of the plane at that time. Ten minutes later, the crew sent a mayday to Santa Maria Oceanic air traffic control. Thirteen minutes later, at 06:26 UTC and about from Lajes Air Base, engine no. 1 also flamed out, requiring the plane to glide the remaining distance. Without engine power, the plane lost its primary source of electrical power. The emergency

ram air turbine A ram air turbine (RAT) is a small wind turbine that is connected to a hydraulic pump, or electrical generator, installed in an aircraft and used as a power source. The RAT generates power from the airstream by ram pressure due to the speed o ...

deployed automatically to provide essential power for critical sensors and

flight instrument Flight instruments are the instruments in the cockpit of an aircraft that provide the pilot with data about the flight situation of that aircraft, such as altitude, airspeed, vertical speed, heading and much more other crucial information in fl ...

s to fly the aircraft as well as enough hydraulic pressure to operate the primary flight controls (without which the aircraft would be uncontrollable). The aircraft lost hydraulic power for the flaps, alternate brakes, and spoilers. The slats would still be powered, while the primary brakes would be able to operate a limited number of times using pressure stored in the brake accumulator. Five minutes later, at 06:31 UTC, the oxygen masks dropped down in the passenger cabin. Military air traffic controllers guided the aircraft to the airport with their radar system. The descent rate of the plane was about . They calculated they had about 15 to 20 minutes left before they would be forced to ditch in the ocean. The air base was sighted a few minutes later. Piché executed one 360° turn, and then a series of "S" turns, to dissipate excess altitude. At 06:45 UTC, the plane touched down hard, around past the threshold of runway 33, at a speed around , bounced once, and then touched down again, roughly from the threshold. Maximum emergency braking was applied and retained, and the plane came to a stop after a landing run that consumed of the runway. Because the antiskid and brake modulation systems were inoperative, the eight main wheels locked up, the tires abraded and fully deflated within , and the wheels themselves were worn down to the axle journals during rollout. Fourteen passengers and two crew members had minor injuries, while two passengers had serious injuries during the evacuation of the aircraft. The plane suffered structural damage to the main landing gear (due to the hard touchdown and the abrasion of the locked wheels against the runway surface during the landing roll) and the lower fuselage (both structural deformation from the hard touchdown and various punctures from impact by pieces of debris shed from the main landing gear).

Investigation

The Portuguese Aviation Accidents Prevention and Investigation Department (GPIAA) investigated the accident along with Canadian and French authorities. Mayday – S01E03 – 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 Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counte ...

system by Air Transat maintenance staff as part of routine maintenance. The engine had been replaced with a spare engine, lent by

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

, 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 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.

Aftermath

Following the accident investigation, the French

Directorate General for Civil Aviation Directorate may refer to: Contemporary *Directorates of the Scottish Government * Directorate-General, a type of specialised administrative body in the European Union * Directorate-General for External Security, the French external intelligence a ...

(DGCA) issued F-2002-548B, requiring a detailed fuel-leak procedure in the flight manual and the need for crews to be aware of this. This was later cancelled and replaced by F-2005-195. The US

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

(FAA) issued AD 2006-02-01, effective February 3, 2006, requiring new airplane flight manual procedures to follow in the event of a fuel leak for Airbus Model A330 and A340 aircraft. The accident led to the DGCA and FAA issuing an

airworthiness directive An Airworthiness Directive (commonly abbreviated as AD) is a notification to owners and operators of certified aircraft that a known safety deficiency with a particular model of aircraft, engine, avionics or other system exists and must be correct ...

(AD), requiring all operators of

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: ' ...

models A318, A319,

A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the famil ...

and A321 narrow-body aircraft to revise their flight manuals, stressing that crews should check that any fuel imbalance is not caused by a fuel leak before opening the cross-feed valve. The AD required all airlines operating these Airbus models to make revisions to the flight manuals before any further flights were allowed. The FAA gave a 15-day grace period before enforcing the AD. Airbus also modified its computer systems; the on-board computer now checks all fuel levels against the flight plan. It now gives a clear warning if fuel is being expended beyond the specified fuel consumption rate of the engines. Rolls-Royce also issued a bulletin advising of the incompatibility of the relevant engine parts. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service with Air Transat in December 2001, with the nickname "Azores Glider". It was placed into storage in March 2020 due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. On October 18, 2021, the aircraft made its last flight with Air Transat and was subsequently returned to the lessor

AerCap AerCap Holdings N.V. is an Irish aircraft leasing company based in Dublin. It became the largest aircraft leasing company in the world after acquiring International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) in 2014, then GECAS from General Electric in ...

. The future use of the aircraft is unknown.

Related study

Margaret McKinnon, a

postdoctoral A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

student at Baycrest Health Sciences in Toronto at the time, was a passenger on her honeymoon on Flight 236. She and her colleagues recruited 15 other passengers in a study of

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats o ...

(PTSD), published in August 2014 in the academic journal '' Clinical Psychological Science'', which compared details recalled by passengers with PTSD with those recalled by passengers without PTSD and with a control group.

In popular culture

* The events of Flight 236 were featured in "Flying on Empty", a season-one (2003) episode of the Canadian TV series '' Mayday'' (called ''Air Emergency'' and ''Air Disasters'' in the U.S. and ''Air Crash Investigation'' in the UK and elsewhere around the world). The flight was also included in a ''Mayday'' sixth season (2007) ''Science of Disaster'' special titled "Who's Flying the Plane?" An error in the documentary is that near the end of the gliding, the radar indicates the

IATA code IATA codes are abbreviations that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) publishes to facilitate air travel. They are typically 1, 2, 3, or 4 character combinations (referred to as unigrams, digrams, trigrams, or tetragrams, respect ...

"AT236" instead of "TS236". *

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...

produced a report on the incident with the title "On a Wing and a Prayer", which first aired in the U.S. on August 7, 2005. * The story of Robert Piché is depicted in the 2010 French Canadian biographical drama film '' Piché: The Landing of a Man'' culminating with the events on Flight 236. Captain Piché is portrayed by both Genie Award-winning actor Michel Côté and his son Maxime LeFlaguais.

Notes

References

External links

Accident Investigation Final Report
from the Portuguese Aviation Accidents Prevention and Investigation Department
ArchiveArchive #2Alternate Link

Report profile

Air Transat Flight TS 236 of August 24, 2001 – Air Transat welcomes investigation findings and recommendations

ArchiveArchive #2
. ''

Air Transat Air Transat is a Canadian airline based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1986, it is the country's third-largest airline behind Air Canada and WestJet, operating scheduled and charter flights serving 60 destinations in 25 countries. Air Transa ...

''. October 17, 2004. *
News report on logistical issues after the incident

"

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca ...

. Sunday August 26, 2001.
Captain Robert Piché's Official Website

PTSD clues gleaned from passengers on terrifying flightThis plane RAN OUT of FUEL in the middle of the OCEAN!!
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...