Air Transat Flight 236

Air Transat Flight 236 was a transatlantic flight bound for Lisbon, Portugal, from Toronto, Canada, on August 24, 2001. The Airbus A330 ran out of fuel due to a fuel leak caused by improper maintenance. Captain Robert Piché, 48, an experienced glider pilot, and First Officer Dirk de Jager, 28, glided the plane to a successful emergency landing.

About Air Transat Flight 236 in brief

Summary Air Transat Flight 236Air Transat Flight 236 was a transatlantic flight bound for Lisbon, Portugal, from Toronto, Canada, on August 24, 2001. The Airbus A330 ran out of fuel due to a fuel leak caused by improper maintenance. Captain Robert Piché, 48, an experienced glider pilot, and First Officer Dirk de Jager, 28, glided the plane to a successful emergency landing in the Azores, saving all 306 people on board. Most of the passengers on the flight were Canadians visiting Europe or Portuguese expatriates returning to visit family in Portugal. The aircraft was a two-year-old Airbus A 330-243 registered as C-GITS 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 772B-60 engines capable of delivering 71,100 lbf thrust each.

Without engine power, the plane lost its primary source of electrical power. The emergency ram air turbine deployed automatically to provide essential power for critical sensors and instruments to fly the aircraft. However, the aircraft lost its main hydraulic power, which operates the flaps, alternate brakes, and spoilers. At 06: 26 UTC and approximately 65 nautical miles from Lajes Air Base, engine No.  1 also flamed out, requiring the aircraft to glide the remaining distance. At the plane touched down hard, approximately 1,030 feet past the threshold of Runway Runway 1, approximately 2,800 feet from the emergency threshold. The air base was sighted a few minutes later, and the plane was forced to ditch in the ocean.