George Cramoisi

Air Crash Investigations: Running out of Fuel, How Air Transat 236 Managed to Fly 100 Miles Without Fuel and Land Safely George Cramoisi

On August 24, 2001, Air Transat Flight 236, an Airbus 330, was on its way from Toronto, Canada to Lisbon, Portugal with 306 people on board. Above the Atlantic Ocean, the crew noticed a dangerous fuel imbalance. The crew changed the planned route for a landing at the Lajes Airport in the Azores. At 06:13 the right engine flamed out. At 06:26, the left engine also flamed out. However, after flying 100 miles without fuel the crew managed to land the aircraft at the Lajes Airport at 06:45. After the landing small fires started in the main-gear wheels, they were extinguished by the crash rescue response vehicles. Only 16 passengers and 2 cabin-crew members received injuries. The aircraft suffered damage to the fuselage and to the main landing gear. The investigation uncovered a large crack in the fuel line of the right engine, it was caused by mistakes during an engine change just before the start of the flight.