Sunday marked the 34th anniversary of an Air Canada Boeing 767 jet making an emergency landing in Gimli.
Air Canada Flight 143 was on its way to Edmonton from Montreal when it ran out of fuel in mid-air over northwestern Ontario.
Captain Bob Pearson was forced to land the plane with no engine power on a decommissioned runway that had been converted from an air force base to a motor racing track, now known as Gimli Motorsports Park.
The plane ran low on fuel due to a miscalculation. A ground crew had mistakenly calculated the fuel amount with pounds instead of kilograms prior to the flight. Canada was in the process of converting to the metric system in 1983.
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Pearson was able to safely land the aircraft with no serious injuries to any of the 61 passengers. Some suffered minor injuries while exited the aircraft on the rear slide, according to reports.
The plane earned the nickname the “Gimli Glider” shortly after the incident.
To commemorate the landing, a new exhibit opened in Gimli on Sunday showcasing artifacts from the flight.
