COLD OPEN+ · SURVIVAL
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The Jet That Ran Out of Fuel Mid-Flight
On July 23, 1983, Air Canada Flight 143 lost both engines at 41,000 feet — because of a units mix-up — and glided to a landing on an old drag strip.
Wikimedia Commons · Renato Spilimbergo Carvalho · GFDL 1.2
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AIR CANADA FLIGHT 143
A brand-new jet, a routine hop
July 23, 1983. A nearly new Boeing 767, registration C-GAUN, flying from Montreal to Edmonton via Ottawa with 61 passengers and 8 crew. In command: Captain Bob Pearson and First Officer Maurice Quintal.
Wikimedia Commons · Renato Spilimbergo Carvalho · GFDL 1.2
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THE ERROR
Pounds where kilograms should have been
The 767 was Air Canada's first aircraft to use the metric system. Refueling in Montreal, the crew and ground staff calculated the fuel load in pounds instead of kilograms — using 1.77 instead of 0.80 to convert. They loaded only about half the fuel they needed.
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THE GAP
22,300
KILOGRAMS NEEDED — THEY BOARDED ROUGHLY HALF
Half a tank, and nobody knew
The flight required about 22,300 kilograms of fuel. Because of the conversion mistake, they departed with roughly half that — and the fuel gauges on this particular jet weren't working, so the load was checked by hand with the wrong math.
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THE MOMENT
At 41,000 feet, the engines died
Over Red Lake, Ontario, a warning chimed. The left engine flamed out. Minutes later, the right engine quit too. A fully loaded airliner was now a 132-ton glider — and most of its instruments went dark with the engines.
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THE TWO THINGS THAT SAVED THEM
The right men in the cockpit
Both pilots happened to have exactly the right background.
CAPT. BOB PEARSON
An experienced glider pilot who flew sailplanes
F/O MAURICE QUINTAL
Had once been stationed at Gimli air base
THE PLAN
Glide toward Quintal's old runway at Gimli, Manitoba
THE CATCH
That runway was now a drag strip — full of people
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THE MANEUVER
He used a glider trick on a jumbo jet
Coming in too high and too fast with no power, Pearson performed a 'forward slip' — crossing the controls to make the plane skid sideways and shed altitude without gaining speed. It's a standard move in a tiny sailplane. Almost no one had done it in a commercial jet.
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THE LANDING
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FATALITIES — GIMLI, MANITOBA, JULY 23, 1983
Down on the drag strip
They touched down fast on the old runway — where a sports-car club was holding a 'Family Day' event, with people and vehicles nearby. The nose gear collapsed, throwing up sparks, but the plane stopped safely. There were only minor injuries, and no deaths.
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THE POINT
A tiny unit mix-up nearly killed 69 people — and calm skill under pressure saved them.
Small errors cascade into disasters faster than anyone expects. But training, a clear head, and a bit of luck can still turn catastrophe into the kind of story people retell for decades.
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THE RECEIPTS · THIS REALLY HAPPENED
Look it up yourself
Every claim in this deck is on the public record.
FLIGHT
Air Canada Flight 143
DATE
July 23, 1983
AIRCRAFT
Boeing 767-200, registration C-GAUN
CREW
Capt. Bob Pearson · F/O Maurice Quintal
PLACE
Gimli, Manitoba (former RCAF Station Gimli)
NICKNAME
'The Gimli Glider' — the jet flew until 2008
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DISCUSS
What do you think?
How can a simple units mistake slip past every safety check on a modern jet?
When something 'impossible' works out, how much is skill and how much is luck?
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