 C-GITS, the aircraft involved, seen in 1999, 2 years before the incident | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | August 24, 2001 |
| Summary | Fuel exhaustion due to fuel leak |
| Site | Lajes Airport/Air Force Base, Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal 42°43′59″N 23°04′59″W / 42.733°N 23.083°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Airbus A330-243 |
| Operator | Air Transat |
| IATA flight No. | TS236 |
| ICAO flight No. | TSC236 |
| Call sign | TRANSAT 236 HEAVY |
| Registration | C-GITS |
| Flight origin | Toronto Pearson International Airport, Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Destination | Portela Airport, Lisbon, Portugal |
| Occupants | 306 |
| Passengers | 293 |
| Crew | 13 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 18 (16 minor, 2 major) |
| Survivors | 306 |
Air Transat Flight 236 was a transatlantic flight bound for Lisbon, Portugal, from Toronto, Canada, that lost all engine power while flying over the Atlantic Ocean on August 24, 2001. The Airbus A330 ran out of fuel because of a fuel leak caused by improper maintenance. Captain Robert Piché, 48, an experienced glider pilot, and First Officer Dirk DeJager, 28, glided the plane to a successful emergency landing in the Azores, saving all 306 people (293 passengers and 13 crew) on board.[1] Most of the passengers on the flight were Canadians visiting Europe or Portuguese expatriates returning to visit family in Portugal. This was also the longest passenger aircraft glide without engines, gliding for nearly 75 miles (121 km; 65 nmi).[2] Following this unusual aviation accident, this aircraft was nicknamed the "Azores Glider".[3]
- ^ Crossette, Barbara (September 10, 2001). "Jet Pilot Who Saved 304 Finds Heroism Tainted". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
- ^ "How a civilian aircraft in distress set a world glider record". We Are The Mighty. August 14, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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