![]() Within seconds the left engine failed and preparations were made for a one-engine landing. A few moments later a second fuel pressure alarm sounded, and the pilots decided to divert to Winnipeg. The computer said that there was still plenty of fuel, but this was based on the wrong calculations. Thinking the fuel pump had failed the pilots turned it off the tanks are above the engines so gravity will take over and feed the engines. Flight 143 then flew the short distance from Montreal to Ottawa, again the fuel level was remeasured before the flight proceeded to Edmonton.Īt 41,000 feet (12 497 m) over Red Lake, Ontario, the cockpit warning system chimed four times and indicated a fuel pressure problem on the left side. Not sure of the calculations, the pilots and the fuelling crew calculated the figures three times, after coming up with the same number all three times, the pilot, Captain Robert (Bob) Pearson, finally stated, "That's it, we're going". Which in fact the airplane only had 9,144kg (20,160Lbs) onboard. Which, the computer interpreted as 20,400 kilograms and that there was enough fuel based on the incorrect input. After using the 1.77 Pounds/Litre factor, the figure 20,400 was entered into the airplane's computer, telling it they had 20,400 pounds of fuel on board. However, a fuel load measured in kilograms should have used the conversion factor of 0.8 Kilograms/Litre. The pilots used a unit conversion factor of 1.77 Pounds/Litre. The Boeing 767-200 was the first in the Air Canada fleet that measured fuel in kilograms, all of the other manuals and planes in the Air Canada fleet used pounds. Calculations were based on weight instead of volume, which required a conversion in the measurements. ![]() When it came time to calculate how much fuel was needed for the flight from Montreal to Edmonton, the error occured. ![]() Instead, the fuel load was measured with a dipstick, to determine the total volume of fuel in the tanks. Unfortunatly, Flight 143's FQIS was not working properly (later traced to a bad solder joint in the capacitance gauges in the fuel tanks). ![]() A Boeing 767-200 - The first model of the 767, launched in 1978 and produced from 1981 to 1994, is normally fuelled using a device known as the Fuel Quantity Information System Processor (FQIS), which operates all of the internal pumps and reports to the pilots on the status of the amount of fuel. ![]()
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