The first reports were of a doomed flight salvaged at the last moment by quick thinking and heroism. But by now, the story of how a Canadian jet crossing the Atlantic survived disaster has changed into a tangle of missteps.

For the 304 people on Air Transat Flight 236 last month, a hard landing in the Azores provided a moment of miraculous relief. With neither of its engines working, the stricken plane glided safely — if in terrifying silence — almost a hundred miles, and landed without serious injuries.

The feat was accomplished by a skillful, laconic pilot with a maverick past, who came home to Canada a few days later asking not to be called a hero. Then he disappeared into remote Quebec.

Now the 49-year-old pilot, Robert Piché; his co-pilot, Dirk DeJager, 28; and Air Transat, a Montreal-based charter airline, are all under investigation about decisions made before and during the drama. One of the most serious questions is whether the captain magnified the crisis by transferring fuel from the working engine to the failing engine, not realizing that it was leaking.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/10/in...as/10PLAN.html