The incident was caused by a series of issues, starting with a failed fuel-quantity indicator sensor (FQIS). These had high failure rates in the 767, and the only available replacement was also nonfunctional. The problem was logged, but later, the maintenance crew misunderstood the problem and turned off the backup FQIS. This required the fuel to be manually measured using a dripstick.

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The ground crew in Montreal loaded the fuel manually using calculations involving the specific gravity of jet fuel. But the factor they used was 1.77 pounds/litre, not the all-metric 0.8 kg/litre required for the new 767.

Instead of the 20,088 litres of fuel required for the return flight to Edmonton, the plane left with 5,000 litres. The same conversion issues occurred during another floatstick test in Ottawa.

Quintal explained the emergency to Winnipeg Air Traffic Control and was immediately cleared to Winnipeg Airport. When Pearson began a gradual descending turn, more buzzers, lights, and displays told the crew that fuel pressure was failing in the right main tank. In minutes, the left engine failed, followed by failure of the right engine. Flight 143 was totally out of fuel.

Quintal began to calculate their rate of descent and the distance to Winnipeg, and he realized that the plane would come up some 15 miles short of the runway. Though it would mean forgoing reliable emergency assistance, Quintal urged Pearson their best hope was a nearby runway in the town of Gimli, which Quintal was familiar with from his time training in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

The plane lost all power, including its electronic instrument system. Since the electrical system ran off the engines and both engines had stopped, the cockpit was now dark, leaving Pearson and Quintal with radio and standby instruments and a $40-million-dollar glider.

The 767's radar transponder had gone dark leaving controllers in Winnipeg using a cardboard ruler on the radar screen to try and determine the 767's location and rate of descent. A magnetic compass, an artificial horizon, an airspeed indicator and an altimeter were the only instruments still working.

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As the plane approached the runway, Perason realized it was coming in too high and fast. They briefly considered a 360° turn to reduce speed and altitude, but decided they did not have enough altitude for the maneuver. Pearson decided to execute a forward slip to increase drag and reduce altitude. This maneuver is commonly used in gliders and light aircraft to descend more quickly without increasing forward speed. The nose of the aircraft pointed to the right, and its left wing pointed down toward the runway.

The pilots used a gravity drop to lower the landing gear and lock it into place. The main gear locked into position, but the lighter nose gear only partially extended. The failure of the nose wheel to lock would later prove to be an advantage after touchdown for the safety of those on the converted runway.

With both engines out of fuel, the plane hardly made any noise during its approach. People on the ground no warning of the impromptu landing and little time to flee. As the gliding plane closed in on the decommissioned runway, the pilots noticed two boys were riding bicycles within 1,000 feet of the projected point of impact.

Two factors helped avert disaster: the failure of the front landing gear to lock into position during the gravity drop, and a guardrail installed along the centre of the repurposed runway. Pearson braked hard as soon as the wheels touched down on the runway, skidding and blowing out two of the tires. The unlocked nose wheel collapsed and was forced back into its well, causing the nose to slam into the ground and then scrape along the tarmac. This additional friction helped to slow the airplane, and kept it from crashing into the crowds surrounding the runway. Pearson applied extra right brake, which caused the main landing gear to straddle the guardrail. Air Canada Flight 143 came to a final stop on the ground 17 minutes after running out of fuel.

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Following Air Canada's internal investigation, Captain Pearson was demoted for six months, and First Officer Quintal was suspended for two weeks for allowing the incident to happen. Three maintenance workers were also suspended. Following a successful appeal against their suspensions, Pearson and Quintal were assigned as crew members aboard another Air Canada flight.

Two years after the incident, Captain Pearson and First Officer Quintal were recognized for their exceptional airmanship with the first ever Fédération Aéronautique Internationale Diploma.

With the exception of a few minor injuries sustained during the evacuation, they landed without any serious injuries to the passengers, crew or people on the ground. Racers and course workers with portable fire extinguishers helped extinguish a minor fire in the nose area.

After almost 25 years of service, C-GAUN flew its last flight on January 1, 2008. The Gimli Glider then began its final voyage on January 24, 2008, as AC7067, from Montreal to Tucson International Airport and final flight to retirement at California's Mojave Airport. The flight was captained by Jean-Marc Bélanger. Captains Robert Pearson and Maurice Quintal were also on board, along with three of the six flight attendants from Flight 143.

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