Robert Piché
Encyclopedia
Robert Piché is a Canadian
pilot. On 24 August 2001, he was captain
of the Airbus A330
flying Air Transat Flight 236
and managed to land the aircraft safetly in the Azores
after it lost all power due to fuel exhaustion. Piché and his co-pilot were later assigned partial responsibility for the incident.
In 1983, Piché served 16 months of a 10-year sentence in prison after a plane he landed solo at a small airfield in Georgia
, USA was found to be full of marijuana smuggled from Jamaica
. He was pardoned in 2000 and is considered fully rehabilitated. In 1996, at the age of 43, Air Transat hired Piché. He rose rapidly from co-pilot to captain on Lockheed L-1011s, and transitioned to the Airbus A330 in the spring of 2000.
In a response to a reporters question regarding heroism, Mr. Piché stated I don't consider myself a hero, sir. I could have done without this.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
pilot. On 24 August 2001, he was captain
Pilot in command
The pilot in command of an aircraft is the person aboard the aircraft who is ultimately responsible for its operation and safety during flight. This would be the "captain" in a typical two- or three-pilot flight crew, or "pilot" if there is only one certified and qualified pilot at the controls of...
of the Airbus A330
Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body twin-engine jet airliner made by Airbus, a division of EADS. Versions of the A330 have a range of and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout or carry of cargo....
flying Air Transat Flight 236
Air Transat Flight 236
Air Transat Flight 236 was an Air Transat route between Toronto, Canada and Lisbon, Portugal flown by Captain Robert Piché and First Officer Dirk De Jager. On August 24, 2001, the flight ran out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean with 306 people aboard...
and managed to land the aircraft safetly in the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
after it lost all power due to fuel exhaustion. Piché and his co-pilot were later assigned partial responsibility for the incident.
Personal history
Piché grew up in Quebec’s remote Gaspé Peninsula and learned to fly as a teenager.In 1983, Piché served 16 months of a 10-year sentence in prison after a plane he landed solo at a small airfield in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, USA was found to be full of marijuana smuggled from Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. He was pardoned in 2000 and is considered fully rehabilitated. In 1996, at the age of 43, Air Transat hired Piché. He rose rapidly from co-pilot to captain on Lockheed L-1011s, and transitioned to the Airbus A330 in the spring of 2000.
In a response to a reporters question regarding heroism, Mr. Piché stated I don't consider myself a hero, sir. I could have done without this.
Emergency landing
Immediately after performing a successful dead-stick landing of an Airbus 330 in the Azores in 2001, Piché was praised by media and was celebrated as a hero, especially in Quebec, where he remains a popular speaker. However, while the primary cause of the incident was improper maintenance, the final investigation also assigned the flight crew partial responsibility for failing to detect the fuel situation earlier. Detractors claim that the pilot failed to use the main procedural checklist when attempting to rectify the imbalance of fuel between the tanks, which might have prevented the extent of the fuel leak on one side. Experienced pilots praise the captain for not panicking or trying to make a sea landing. The pilot glided the Airbus 330 longer than any commercial aircraft in history as of 2011, and landed at an airport on a remote island with no navigation instruments. This feat has never been successfully reproduced in a flight simulator. He successfully was able to save the plane (with only 8 blown tires), crew and 304 passengers.External links
- Final investigative report for Air Transat Flight 236
- "Jet Pilot Who Saved 304 Finds Heroism Tainted", New York Times, September 10, 2001
- Robert Piché's personal website