| Revision as of 23:11, 19 November 2005 editBryan Derksen (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users95,333 edits →Sequence of Events: turning table into text and a list← Previous edit | Revision as of 22:04, 29 November 2005 edit undo146.87.255.18 (talk) →DramatizationNext edit → | ||
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| ==Dramatization== | ==Dramatization== | ||
| A documentary in the ''Mayday'' series called "Flying on Empty" was made about this incident and aired in ]. The National Geographic Channel's documentary series ''Air Crash Investigation'' also covered the incident in series 1 episode 6 entitled ''Flying on Empty''. | |||
| In addition, the story of Flight 236 was featured in ]'s cable network series "Air Emergency". The story was told by several passengers who were on the flight, and cockpit voice recordings gave actors playing the crew insight as to the events on the plane. Actual crew members declined to be interviewed for the program. | |||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 22:04, 29 November 2005
Air Transat Flight 236 was an Air Transat route between Toronto and Lisbon flown by pilot Robert Piché and co-pilot Dick Dejager. On August 24, 2001, the flight ran out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean with 306 (293 passengers + 13 crew) people on board.
Sequence of events
From the Air Transat press release dated October 17, 2004.
Flight TS 236 took off from Toronto at 8.52 pm (EST) on Thursday, August 23, 2001; it made an emergency landing at 6.45 am (UTC, or Coordinated Universal Time) on August 24, 2001, at Lajes Airport, Terceira, Azores, Portugal.
There were 293 passengers and 13 crew members onboard. Sixteen passengers and two crew members were injured during the evacuation of the aircraft. All injuries were minor or very minor, except for two passengers who suffered serious, but non life-threatening, injuries. The aircraft was an Airbus A330 manufactured in 1999, configured with 362 seats and put into service by Air Transat in April of 1999. Leaving the gate in Toronto, the aircraft had 47.9 tonnes of fuel on board; 5.5 tonnes over and above the fuel required by regulations.
- It has been estimated that a fuel leak started at 4.38 am (UTC), approximately four hours into the flight.
- At 5.45 am (UTC, or Coordinated Universal Time) the pilots made a decision to divert the flight to the Azores.
- At 6.13 am (UTC) the right engine flamed out.
- At 6.26 am (UTC) the left engine flamed out. What followed is a 19-minute glide, over a distance of 65 nautical miles (approximately 120 km).
- At 6.45 am (UTC) or 2.45 am (EST) the aircraft landed at Lajes Airport, on the island of Terceira, at an estimated speed of 200 knots (370 km/h). An emergency evacuation of the aircraft was ordered and took place in 90 seconds.
Incident
Unknown to the pilots, the airplane had developed a fuel leak in its right engine. During the course of the flight, the pilots had noticed a fuel imbalance between the fuel tanks in the left and right wings of the aircraft and had attempted to remedy this by opening a cross-feed valve between the tanks. This only caused fuel from the operational tank to be wasted through the leak in the other tank.
Without fuel, an airplane's engines cannot operate to provide thrust or power the electrical generators. As all large commercial aircraft, the flight controls of the Airbus are hydraulically powered: without operating engines the plane is dependent on the emergency ram air turbine to allow the aircraft to be flown.
The emergency turbine deploys automatically in the event of power loss, and provides enough power to operate the flight controls, basic instrumentation and radio. However, many important systems are not available in this situation, including flaps and main brakes. Additionally, an aircraft without operating engines cannot use reverse thrust to slow down.
The pilots on the airplane, an Airbus A330, were able to glide the plane to a landing at Lajes Air Base, Terceira Island in the Azores. The reported landing speed was 370 km/h, which is higher that the normal speed of 210 to 260 km/h. The incident had no fatalities, but there were some minor injuries. The favorable outcome of the incident was also due to the flight being rerouted on a more southerly route across the Atlantic due to congestion, bringing them closer to the Azores.
Investigation
The investigation revealed the cause of the accident was a fuel leak in the number two engine, caused by an incorrect fitting part in the hydraulics system being installed in the engine by Air Transat maintenance. The part did not maintain adequate clearance between the hydraulic lines and the fuel line. This allowed vibration in the hydraulic lines to eventually degrade the fuel line and cause the leak. Air Transat accepted responsibility for the incident and was fined $250,000 by the Canadian government.
Although pilot error was listed as one of the causes for the incident, it should be noted that it was the skill of the pilots which allowed the flight to land without fuel and causing only minor injuries and damages to the airplane (which is still in service). The pilots returned to a heroes' welcome in the Canadian press.
The incident also led to a change in the checklists for the A330, stressing that crews should check that any fuel imbalance is not caused by a fuel leak before opening the cross-feed valve.
Dramatization
See also
- Gimli Glider, involving a 1983 emergency landing without fuel.
External links
- Accident Investigation Final Report from the Portuguese Aviation Accidents Prevention and Investigation Department (PDF)
- Air Transat's report
- News report on logistical issues after the incident