The miracle of flight has made the world accessible like never before. Yet, even with cutting-edge aircraft and stringent safety measures, the specter of fuel exhaustion continues to haunt the aviation industry, leading to nightmarish crashes. In this blog, we delve into five spine-chilling incidents where a plane falls from the sky because of fuel exhaustion.
Air Canada Flight 143 – The Gimli Glider This gripping tale unfolds in 1983 when Air Canada Flight 143, a Boeing 767, faced a crisis of fuel miscalculation. A flawed Fuel Quantity Indicator System (FQIS) set the stage for a series of harrowing events. The plane ran out of fuel mid-air, but Captain Pearson’s extraordinary skills led to a heart-stopping glide and a miraculous landing in Gimli, Manitoba. Unbelievably, there were no fatalities.
ALM Antillean Airlines Flight 980 The skies turned ominous for ALM Antillean Airlines Flight 980 in 1970. Fuel exhaustion haunted this flight, bound from New York to St. Maarten. Poor weather, miscommunications, and multiple failed landing attempts drove this ill-fated plane to a watery grave, leaving 23 souls lost at sea.
Avianca Flight 052 In 1990, Avianca Flight 052 suffered the consequences of fuel mismanagement, leading to 73 tragic deaths. The flight was laden with communication breakdowns and placed in multiple holding patterns due to inaccurate delay estimations. Poor weather and an inadequate go-around attempt culminated in a devastating crash near JFK Airport.
East Coast Aviation Service Flight A fatal misjudgment of refueling doomed the East Coast Aviation Service Flight in 2000. En route from Atlantic City to Wilkes-Barre, the plane carried 17 passengers and 2 crew members. Tragically, no additional fuel was added during the second leg of the flight. The result was a disastrous engine failure, with no survivors.
LaMia Flight 2933 In 2016, LaMia Flight 2933 plunged into disaster due to an inadequate flight plan and pilot errors. Transporting the Chapecoense football team, this flight from Bolivia to Medellín ended in heartbreak, with 71 lives lost.
These haunting incidents are a stark reminder that, despite technological advancements, human errors and unforeseen circumstances can still lead to catastrophic crashes when planes run out of fuel. We owe it to those who perished to ensure such tragedies are never repeated.