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twg
Joined: 02 Nov 2006
Location: Getting some fresh air...
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 Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 8:38 am Post subject: The Gimli Glider |
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A really good one from Damn Interesting this week:
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"Holy shit."
Inside the cockpit of the cruising airliner, Captain Bob Pearson was understandably alarmed at the out-of-the-ordinary beeps that were chiming from his flight computer. On the control panel, an amber low fuel pressure warning lamp lit up to punctuate the audio alarm.
First Officer Maurice Quintal, copilot of Air Canada Flight 143, checked the indicator light to determine the cause of the computer's complaints. "Something's wrong with the fuel pump," he reported.
The mustachioed Captain Pearson pulled out the trusty Boeing handbook, his fingers dashing through the pages to find the specifics of the warning. To his relief, the troubleshooting chart indicated that the situation was not as perilous as it might seem: the fuel pump in the left wing tank was signaling a problem, a minor issue considering that gravity would continue to feed the engines even if the pump failed.
"You know," he commented to Copilot Quintal, "I would not take this air…" He trailed off as the computer blurted out another four beeps, and the indicator panel lit up like a Christmas tree decorated with bad news. "Oh *beep*," Pearson lamented, "we've got to go to Winnipeg." |
Ugh, this makes me even less willing to fly Air Canada
The rest is here, well worth the read:
http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=744 |
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Czarjorge
Joined: 01 May 2007
Location: I now have the same moustache, and it is glorious.
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| Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 8:43 pm Post subject: |
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| I love Damn Interesting. |
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Kimchi Cowboy
Joined: 17 Sep 2006
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| Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 10:15 pm Post subject: |
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A crew of engineers from Winnipeg airport clambered into a van and headed for Gimli to assess the damage. During transit, however, their vehicle unexpectedly ran out of fuel, nearly ripping a hole in the delicate space-irony continuum.
I nearly spat coffee all over my monitor when I read that... |
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kimchi_pizza
Joined: 24 Jul 2006
Location: "Get back on the bus! Here it comes!"
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| Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 10:21 pm Post subject: |
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Ha! I just finished reading that article and it was pretty amazing. Flying without working fuel gauges?! It's scary that pilots would even think of doing something like that.
Check out the story of the disappearing lake... http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=6 |
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LateBloomer
Joined: 06 May 2006
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| Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 10:47 pm Post subject: |
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This story brings back memories and regrets. I was working as a reporter at the small town newspaper that served the Gimli area. Loved the job but was tired of the money or more accurately....lack of it.
I had just resigned and left the job a few days before the Gimli Glider landed. I would have loved to cover that story--interview the pilots, and passengers etc. It's my "the one that got away". |
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kermo
Joined: 01 Sep 2004
Location: Eating eggs, with a comb, out of a shoe.
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| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 4:18 am Post subject: Re: The Gimli Glider |
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| twg wrote: |
| "Oh *beep*," Pearson lamented, "we've got to go to Winnipeg." |
Heard that one before. |
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