Metric Conversion Errors Can Be Costly

Not everyone finds reading about plane crashes as fascinating as I do. Nor should you, because people die, and that’s really bad. So here, instead, we have a casualty-free air NEAR-disaster of particular merit.

The Gimli Glider incident of 1983 was like the logical end-result of being super-bad at those “so and so leaves such and such place at four pm, when will he intersect other loser who left blah blah at other time” high school math problems.

I mean, the first issue, right, is the fuel gauge was busted. But Air Canada’s policy was that if the fuel was measured on the ground, you could still fly with a busted gauge. Unfortunately, since Canada was just hopping on board the metric system at the time, instead of winding up with the necessary 22,300 kg of fuel, they had 22,300 pounds of fuel.

Which, it turns out, is not actually enough to get you even close to Edmonton from Montreal. And, as it also turns out, if your fuel gauge is busted, the first indication you have a problem will be losing both engines, followed by all the power to your instrument panels. So, you have a 767 with zero power AND no hydraulic systems, and no airport anywhere in sight.

And they landed the goddamn thing on an active drag-racing track. With no serious injuries. BOOM.

So, you know, it’s not just a cute cultural difference. It’s life and death. Or, life and mild nose-cone damage.