Packed airliner glided for 20 minutes over Atlantic

Human error caused a fuel leak in an Airbus 300 and inadequate safety procedures led to the Canadian jetliner’s crew having to glide for almost 20 minutes after losing power, according to an official report today.

Eleven people were injured, none seriously, when the Air Transat plane with more than 304 people aboard descended more than 30,000 feet without power and made an emergency landing in Portugal’s mid-Atlantic Azores Islands in August 2001.

Following the incident, Canada’s government imposed a fine and restrictions on Air Transat’s fleet after the airline admitted mechanics installed improper equipment on the plane.

A 103-page report by the Portuguese Aviation Accidents Investigation Department traced the incident to the pre-flight installation of a replacement engine which had a different configuration from the engine being removed.

The senior mechanic during the installation “relied on verbal advice” instead of checking technical service documents, the report said.