Conversion Fail: Air Canada jet runs out of fuel (1983)
Canada went fully metric in the late 1970s after a phase-in process that started in 1971. But America’s neighbor to the north has experienced its fair share of hiccups over confusion about metric versus imperial units.
On July 29, 1983 Air Canada Flight 143 ran out of fuel. Air Canada had been measuring fuel in pounds for years before finally switching to kilograms. But that caused some confusion, as the Boeing 767 jet, Canada’s first aircraft using metric measurements, had been filled with too little fuel on that summer day.
The flight, originally scheduled to travel from Ottawa to Edmonton, had to make an emergency landing in Gimli, Manitoba. To make matters even worse, the flaps on the plane couldn’t be engaged due to the engine failure, forcing the pilots to land at a much faster speed than they should have.
The 69 passengers aboard escaped with only minor injuries, thankfully. But you can bet those pilots always double-checked the fuel gauge after that.