Robert Pearson

Captain Bob Pearson (http://tinyurl.com/6l56woh)

Robert Pearson and his first officer Maurice Quintal never expected to be part of the shocking plane ride that took place in Canada in 1983. They never expected to get their fifteen minutes of fame in that way. But if they knew that event would occur would they have ever set foot on the plane? Probably not. This is the story of how these two men braved the unexpected, pitting themselves against the brute force of nature and yet another one of man’s follies. The first voyage of the Gimli Glider.

The Boeing 767 was the top of the line in plane manufacturing. Fewer controls to lower system failure rates. It also only required two people instead of the usual three people required to fly it.. Robert Pearson and his first officer, M. Quintal, were at the airport a few hours before the flight as usual to check on the fuel gauges and supplies. They were scheduled to arrive in Edmonton, Alberta after a hop over to Ottawa to pick up more passengers. Everything should have gone perfect.

Pearson and Quintal (Gimli Glider Movie) (http://airodyssey.net/1998/07/01/movie-flt174/ )

The Boeing 767 was the top of the line in plane manufacturing. Fewer controls to lower system failure rates. It also only required two people instead of the usual three people required to fly it.. Robert Pearson and his first officer, M. Quintal, were at the airport a few hours before the flight as usual to check on the fuel gauges and supplies. They were scheduled to arrive in Edmonton, Alberta after a hop over to Ottawa to pick up more passengers. Everything should have gone perfect.

The

The fault in the math was, when you convert litres, you convert them into pounds, not kilograms. And since a pound is less than half of a kilogram, they had less than half the fuel it needed to make it. And worst of all, the estimate was so far off, the fuel warning light would never come on. It was as if they were inside a ticking time-bomb, waiting to explode at any moment.

Boeing 767 on Nose (telstarlogistics.typepad.com)

About two hours into the flight, warning lights began to turn on and a signal sounded, telling the crew that the fuel pumps on the left wing were out. Pearson assured himself that it was normal for that to happen right before another alarm went off. The right pumps were down. The odds of that happening were near impossible. Something must be wrong with the fuel, was the most likely thought that went through his head at the moment. Pearson’s heartbeat started to go into overdrive. He could get there, even if he only had one engine. Then more alarms went off. After a few minutes of non-stop panic, the real trouble began. A loud bong sounded through the cabin signaling that the the first engine, on the left wing of the plane, had run out.

About two hours into the flight, warning lights began to turn on and a signal sounded, telling the crew that the fuel pumps on the left wing were out. Pearson assured himself that it was normal for that to happen right before another alarm went off. The right pumps were down. The odds of that happening were near impossible. Something must be wrong with the fuel, was the most likely thought that went through his head at the moment. Pearson’s heartbeat started to go into overdrive. He could get there, even if he only had one engine. Then more alarms went off. After a few minutes of non-stop panic, the real trouble began. A loud bong sounded through the cabin signaling that the the first engine, on the left wing of the plane, had run out.

Quintal was in a jam. He was stuck on board a falling plane. So he did what any other smart pilot would do: he turned on the emergency power. The lights flickered back on again and Quintal’s hopes rose. They couldn’t possibly lose now they had their equipment back! Quintal realized what the back-up system ran on; jet fuel. He watched the power drain painfully. The Boeing 767 had only one line of defense left. It was time to engage the RAT.

The RAT stood for Ram Air Turbine, a pinwheel like design that used the airwaves around it to power the most primary controls. It was the last resort. No jet plane was meant to lose both engines, ever. The plane was going to turn into a ‘glider’.

Pearson fiddled with the radio. The radios worked because they ran on battery. Information poured over the radio, until one vital piece of information came over the radio. There was a abandoned airport not far from his location. He set his course to the only possible landing place, a small abandoned airport in Gimli, Manitoba.

About two hours into the flight, warning lights began to turn on and a signal sounded, telling the crew that the fuel pumps on the left wing were out. Pearson assured himself that it was normal for that to happen right before another alarm went off. The right pumps were down. The odds of that happening were near impossible. Something must be wrong with the fuel, was the most likely thought that went through his head at the moment. Pearson’s heartbeat started to go into overdrive. He could get there, even if he only had one engine. Then more alarms went off. After a few minutes of non-stop panic, the real trouble began. A loud bong sounded through the cabin signaling that the the first engine, on the left wing of the plane, had run out.

Pearson was coming in too fast. He whipped the yoke to the left, as if he was turning left, and at the same time pressed hard down on the right rudder pedal as if he was turning right. This greatly increased the drag in a wild flail to keep them from over shooting the runway. This almost crashed the plane itself since the left wing was a mere forty metres away from the runway, while they were moving at 180 knots. Pearson targeted the left runway. There was only one thing they didn’t tell him, there was the local Gimli Auto club on that runway; having a picnic.

When the 767 hit the runway, two of the tires on the right burst. Pearson stood on the brake pedals, throwing on his weight in an effort to stop the plane. The landing gear broke, and the nose of the plane ground into the pavement. Pearson had difficulty steering the plane and keeping it centered on the runway. Then, Pearson noticed a metal railing to the side. Heading for it, he pushed the plane against it then to the railing on the other side. The plane came to a dead halt; only a few hundred feet away from the picnic.

As a consequence of Captain Pearson and Co-captain Quintal’s miscalculation, there was a six-month demotion for Pearson, and a two week leave with pay for Quintal. Although it wasn’t considered heroism in the company’s eyes, the final report read: “The consequence would have been disastrous had it not been for the flying ability of Captain Pearson with valuable assistance from Officer Quintal.”

As a consequence of Captain Pearson and Co-captain Quintal’s miscalculation, there was a six-month demotion for Pearson, and a two week leave with pay for Quintal. Although it wasn’t considered heroism in the company’s eyes, the final report read: “The consequence would have been disastrous had it not been for the flying ability of Captain Pearson with valuable assistance from Officer Quintal.”