AIR TRANSAT PILOT ROBERT PICHE LISTENS TO A QUESTION FROM THE MEDIA.
Captain Robert Piche, 49, listens to a question from the media as First
Officer Dirk De Jager (C) and Flight Director Meleni Tesic (L) look on after
returning home to Montreal, August 28, 2001. Hailed as a hero for landing
Airbus 330-200 without engine power, the pilot of Air Transat Flight 236
said on Tuesday he only did his job, albeit in a dramatic fashion. "Being at
33,000 feet above the Atlantic at night without engine power is not a dream
situation for a pilot," Piche told a news conference. "I don't think I'm an
hero, I could have done without this." Air Transat Flight 236, carrying 291
passengers and 13 crew, ran into fuel and engine troubles on August 24, 2001
while headed to Lisbon from Toronto.
CM/JP