Recounts the remarkable story of Air Canada Flight 143, which lost all power at 41,000 feet when it ran out of fuel, leaving pilot Bob Pearson the near-impossible task of landing it safely.
This is a factual, hair-raising account of a 1983 Air Canada Boeing 767 that, due to a maintenance man's mathematical error in fueling and a fuel system computer malfunction, ran out of fuel and immediately lost all electrical power while in flight at a height of 41,000 feet. Captain Bob Pearson received many accolades for successfully landing the plane at an abandoned Canadian Air Force Base. The journalist authors tell the story of the 29-minute glide and the gripping real-life terror from the perspectives of the pilot, crew, air traffic controllers, and passengers. The book is well-written and has an excellent postscript which discusses the lengthy investigation, the issue of assigning blame, and the subsequent modifications made to procedures, checklists, and equipment. William Hoffer coauthored Midnight Express (LJ 4/15/77).
- William A. McIntyre, N.H. Vocational Technical Coll. Lib., Nashua
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A detailed account of the 'Gimli Glider'; a modern jet airliner that ran out of fuel at 41,000 feet on July 23, 1983. The Hoffer's cover how such a thing could happen, the events during the long glide, and some of the aftermath. An incredible non-disaster. ( )