The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that on Aug. 24, 2001, Air Transat Flight 236 ran out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean on its way from Toronto to Lisbon. The Globe's Nicolas Van Praet writes that at the controls was Robert Piché, a 48-year-old Quebecker with a cool temperament and a past he was desperate to keep secret. Mr. Piché steered the powerless A330 airliner for 19 minutes to the nearest piece of land. The plane touched down at the Lajes military air base on the island of Terceira, in the Azores, roughly 1,400 kilometres west of Portugal. All 293 passengers and 13 crew members survived, and Mr. Piché was hailed as a hero. To this day, it's still the longest glide by a passenger jet. With the fame came momentary dishonour when reporters dug up his personal history and published the details. After an early career as a bush pilot, Mr. Piché fell into drug smuggling. In 1983, after a run from Jamaica, he was caught in an airfield in Georgia, U.S., with cannabis in his cargo hold. He was sentenced to five years in a Georgia prison and served 16 months. Mr. Piché also struggled with long-term dependency on alcohol. In 2007, he created a foundation to support treatment for people with addictions.