The Hero Was A Zero

[Montcalm]

http://wwwFrom Hero To Zero

Report blames pilots in Transat near-disaster

CTV.ca News Staff

The official report is taking the shine off an Air Transat pilot's apparent feat of heroism, blaming Captain Robert Piche and his crew for needlessly jeopardizing their Portugal-bound airliner.

In August 2001, Capt. Piche was hailed as a hero after he glided his Airbus A-330 to an emergency landing in the Azores, 19 minutes after the plane ran out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean.

According to the official report of the incident, obtained by The Globe and Mail ahead of its release on Monday, Portugal's Aviation Accidents Prevention and Investigation Department says the jet could have made a routine diversionary landing if pilots had followed proper procedure.

The report suggests that when the flight crew recognized a fuel leak -- more than an hour after it began -- they misdiagnosed the problem as an imbalance, rather than a leak.

Trying to correct the problem from memory, rather than following an established checklist, led to a miscalculation and the dumping of tonnes of fuel.

Despite their criticism, the Portuguese investigators were nevertheless impressed by Piche's ability as a pilot.

"The captain's skill in conducting the engines-out glide to a successful landing averted a catastrophic accident and saved the lives of the passengers and crew,'' the report says, singling out the final 360-degree turn Piche executed to lose sufficient height for landing at the Lajes air base in the Azores.

The report concludes the initial leak was caused by improper installation of the plane's right-side engine nearly a week before the emergency landing. Improperly attached fuel and hydraulic lines had chafed, creating a rupture.

In a statement released late Sunday night, Piche said the report brings the incident to an end.

"The report by Portuguese authorities on Air Transat Flight TS 236 confirms that the August 24, 2001, occurrence was the result of a chain of events, and identifies the risk factors involved," Piche said.

"I feel that with the release of this report, the final chapter of this story has come to a close, and I will make no more comments at this time.''

Credited with saving the lives of more than 300 passengers and crew, details of Piche's past, including 19 months in a Georgia prison after he was caught flying marijuana runs, were brought to light in the subsequent public spotlight.

In a separate statement released Sunday, Air Transat president and CEO Allen Graham said his company supports the recommendations included in the report.

"Since the occurrence we have reviewed our training programs and enhanced our processes, in terms of both maintenance and flight operations. Passenger safety has always been and continues to be our top priority; this event is unique in our history,'' Graham said.
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The real hero was the co-pilot

[Sea Skimmer]

This report is just restating with authority what came out and was well known within days of that accident

[Alan Bolte]

I hate to go a bit off-topic here, but it's been really irritating me lately, and I need to rant: why has it become journalistic practice to attempt to obtain press releases before anyone else and treat that as though they landed some big story? (rhet). It's nonsense. I mean, it's bad enough to just parrot press releases rather than doing some real investigative work, but to go and spend the time and effort to be able to parrot it before the other guy can? As if they other guy is stealing your story or something? Bah!