Hero pilots awarded for daring landing
From cbc.ca
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Two Canadian pilots who managed to land a passenger jet after it ran out of fuel have been honoured for what they were able to do.
The U.S.-based Air Line Pilots Association presented Superior Airmanship Awards to captain Robert Piché and first officer Dirk De Jager at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Thursday night.
Last August, Piché was piloting an Air Transat flight from Toronto to Lisbon. About two-thirds of the way there, the right engine of the Airbus A-330 stopped because of a fuel leak.
Two minutes later, the other engine also died. Piché managed to ride the wind for 18 minutes and glide the plane to safety, landing on a tiny island runway in the Azores.
The force of the touch-down blew out eight of the plane's 12 tires. But despite the flat tires and lack of electrical power, the pilots managed to stop on the runway.
The pilots are credited with saving the lives of 300 people on board.