Boeing 767 - Last Flight of a Legend
The last flight of Air Canada’s Boeing 767 may not be a significant story considering current world events, but it should not be just a footnote in history.
Registration C-FTCA (Fin # 638) made the final passenger flight, Rapidair AC439 YUL-YYZ, on June 2 and then the lonely trip to Marana, Arizona (MZJ) on June 5.
Fin # 638 was originally delivered to Canadian Airlines in April 1989 and retired with 31.2 years of service.
I am sure that our readers must have numerous B-767 stories to tell. Hopefully, some of them will be willing to share their stories with us.
For myself, I loved everything about these aircraft both as a passenger and my various positions in material supply.
My first ‘flight deck’ ride was from YYZ to YYC in August 1994. I was coming off working a night shift and was trying to get to YVR. The direct flight was jammed but the passenger agent said that I could get on the flight to Calgary at the next gate.
It was quite a shock when I entered the aircraft and the flight attendant opened the flight deck door and said, “there’s your seat”. I did not have time to adjust to that surprise when I glanced at the aircraft ID plate and saw ‘604’, the Gimli Glider. That woke me up! It was a nice smooth flight and the captain loved having someone to chat with. I had a great time.
As a stock keeper picking up AOG (Aircraft on Ground) parts for maintenance, the B-767 was the best aircraft to meet due to the bulk cargo compartment on the port side. I could park my truck well clear of most of the activity unloading the aircraft.
Near the end of my career, as a Material Logistics Coordinator and Expediter, the B-767 fleet was quite a challenge for identifying parts. Not only did we have the combined fleet of Air Canada and Canadian Airlines configurations to deal with, but several more aircraft were acquired from various lessors and had unique configurations.
(Editor's note from Ken Pickford: Canadian Airlines assigned registrations ending with "CA" when they took delivery of Fins 637 to 642 between 1989 and 1991.
I expect many people who saw that C-FTCA registration on an AC aircraft thought it had some connection to AC's original name, but in fact it was just a coincidence)
|
