Air Transat Flight 236
The aircraft after the emergency landing | |
| 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 | |
| C-GITS, the aircraft involved, seen in 1999, 2 years before the incident | |
| 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, and First Officer Dirk DeJager, 28, glided the plane to a successful emergency landing in the Azores, saving the lives of all 306 people (293 passengers and 13 crew) on board. 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 65 nautical miles (120 km; 75 mi). Following this unusual aviation accident, this aircraft was nicknamed the "Azores Glider".