Jonathan Cerreta
Chemistry
"Crash Course in Density"
As flight 143, a twin engine 767, was passing over Red Lake on its was to Edmonton, Canada, the left front fuel pump warning light went on. There were a few possibilities for this to happen, such as the fuel pump failing, a fuel line clogging, or a empty fuel tank. The former two were easily dealt with, since the plane could fly without one fuel pump. However, the last possibility was horrifying. After a few minutes, the second fuel pump in the left wing began to blare. It would be too much of a coincidence for two fuel pumps to independently fail, or two fuel lines to independently clog, so it was apparent that the left tank was out of fuel.
Quickly, the pilots decided that getting to Edmonton was out of the question. The nearest large airport was at Winnipeg, so they radioed ahead and changed their course.
English: High_pressure_fuel_pump
Kilogram of Conservatoire
fuel pumpIn a few minutes, all four of the fuel pumps had failed. The worst possible news, they were out of fuel. In a few more minutes the engines stopped running, and all of the high tech instruments became useless.
They realized that they could not even make it to Winnipeg. Their only chance was an abandoned to a abandoned Air Force airstrip. Unfortunately, the airstrip had been converted to a race track, complete with race cars, fences, and spectators. The 767 crash landed, and, fortunately, no one was killed.
Their were many contributing factors that made this plane run out of fuel. First of all, the computerized fuel gauge was not working, and a maintenance worker said , incorrectly, that the plane was still certified to fly. To measure the amount of fuel remaining, they use a drip stick...