Mayday Gimli Glider Flashcards
(3 cards)
What really happened on the mayday Gimli glider?
The Mayday Gimli Glider incident occurred on July 23, 1983, when Air Canada Flight 143 ran out of fuel mid-flight due to a miscalculation in fuel loading. The aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8, was forced to glide to a safe landing at Gimli, Manitoba, where it successfully landed on a former airstrip
How did this happen ?
The incident happened due to a combination of human error and a misunderstanding of the aircraft’s fuel system. The flight crew believed they had enough fuel for the journey, but a miscalculation and a failure to convert fuel measurements from imperial to metric units led to the aircraft being significantly under-fueled
Why did this happen?
The primary causes of the Mayday Gimli Glider incident included a lack of proper training for the flight crew regarding fuel management and the confusion between metric and imperial measurement systems. Additionally, the ground crew’s failure to accurately assess the fuel levels contributed to the miscalculation, ultimately leading to the emergency situation
