Famous Boeing 767 "Gimli Glider" - To Be Offered at the Toronto Spring Classic Car Auction!

Boeing 767 C-GAUN, ex-Air Canada 604 by the current owner at Mojave, CA

While long renowned for offering classic, exotic, and high-performance cars at the Toronto International Classic Car Auction, the largest and longest-running event of its kind in Canada, Dan Spendick’s Collector Car Productions will offer something completely different on Sunday, April 14. 

     World-famous and a Canadian icon in its own right, this ex-Air Canada Boeing 767 jet airliner flew into history in July, 1983 as Air Canada Flight 143 when it ran out of fuel at 41,000 feet and silently glided in for an epic emergency landing at Gimli, Manitoba’s decommissioned Royal Canadian Air Force base. All 61 passengers and eight crew survived; only a few experienced minor injuries while using the rear emergency-exit slides. The feat is historic as it is believed the longest successful power-off glide of a jet airliner ever undertaken. 

Photograph taken of C-GAUN in the familiar old Air Canada livery in 1987 by photojournalist Gary Hebbard.
Copyrighted photo by Gary J. Hebbard. All rights reserved.

     Now best-known as the "Gimli Glider", the 767 is set to be auctioned on April 14 following a video presentation at the Toronto International Spring Classic Car Auction, presented by Dan Spendick's Collector Car Productions.

Image of C-GAUN by Alan Radecki, publisher of the excellent Mojave Skies blog, taken following arrival of the 767 at Mojave, prior to removal of the distinctive Air Canada livery.

     According to the current owner, the 767 can be prepared for a delivery flight anywhere in North America at the buyer’s expense. While acquisition of a jet airliner like this 767 may seem outlandish to some, several examples of this highly successful airliner have been converted into luxurious executive transports for private use by business and sporting executives. Among them are Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, and Roman Abramovich, owner of England’s Chelsea Football Club. 

     Now, this historic and colourful Boeing 767 can be yours! For further information or to make bidder arrangements, contact Dan Spendick’s Collector Car Productions.   

Wonderful amateur video of the "Gimli Glider" departing Montreal's Pierre Trudeau airport en route to Mojave, California on January 24, 2008. Both pilots Pearson and Quintal, plus most of the cabin crew from the famous 1983 flight were on board for the 767's retirement flight.

These last two images are also courtesy of the aircraft's owner.