Air Transat Flight 236 passenger on why she decided to study memory and trauma after crash landing

On Aug. 24, 2001, Margaret McKinnon and her new husband, John Baljkas, boarded Air Transat Flight 236 from Toronto to Lisbon for their honeymoon. About four hours into the flight, the Airbus A330’s right engine began leaking fuel into the Atlantic Ocean. Eventually, both engines would flame out, and captain Robert Piché would execute what remains the longest glide with no engine power ever for a passenger aircraft – 120 kilometres – into the tiny Lajes military air base in the Azores.

Even before Ms. McKinnon boarded that ill-fated flight, she was interested in the way peoples’ brains work. She earned a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Toronto and was working toward a PhD with a focus on aging. But the flight, and the unlikely survival of all 306 people on board, changed the course of her research focus entirely.

Despite being diagnosed with PTSD herself after returning to Toronto, Ms. McKinnon embarked on a series of studies that examined 15 of her fellow passengers and the way they processed memories of the Flight 236 crash landing. Ms. McKinnon, now a professor and associate research chair at McMaster University in Hamilton, has dedicated her entire career to studying mental health, trauma and memory. She spoke to The Globe and Mail about the aftermath of the incident.

Inside the cockpit of Air Transat 236 with the pilot who saved the flight from a near-crash

I can imagine some survivors might never want to think about an event like this again. Why immerse yourself in this research so soon after?

I think it was a way of having some control over a very uncontrollable event. But I also thought it was really important to understand how an event like this impacted memory and psychological functioning. That said, I’m not sure if I would do it again. It was very hard on me emotionally.

Did anything surprise you when working through your research?

I learned a lot [about the crash landing] that I didn’t remember. I learned that there was a countdown until impact with the ocean: five minutes, four minutes, three minutes, two minutes. I learned that the lights were flashing on and off, which I didn’t remember. There were pockets that I recalled really well and there were things I don’t remember at all. My husband was on board with me, and we have completely different memories of what happened.

Your research showed that it’s common for trauma survivors to have gaps in their memory. Can you explain why that happens?

It really depends on how the memory is encoded at the time. We see alterations in neural networks that are involved in memory during the encoding and retrieval of traumatic memories. During the time of the event, some people have a reaction where they dissociate, which means that we don’t feel present in our body or in the world around us. And when that happens, it can impact memory.

Looking back after 25 years, do you view the crash landing any differently now than you did back then?

I would never want to relive what happened, but I don’t regret what happened. It’s given me a lot of opportunities to give back through working with patients with post-traumatic stress injuries. I’ve gotten to work with 9/11 families and survivors. I’ve been able to work with military members, veterans, public safety personnel.

My husband and I actually went back to Portugal two weeks ago and stayed in the same hotels. We really tried to create more positive memories, because we’d had such a negative experience on our honeymoon. It was really wonderful to do that.

Capt. Robert Piché is a controversial figure, even now. Though largely credited for stewarding the plane to safety, an investigation led by the Portuguese flight authority found he had initially failed to follow procedure for a fuel leak. How do you view him?

I think the older I get, the more I appreciate what could have happened and how lucky we are. I have a lot of gratitude to him for what he did. His experiences in life really led him to that moment. If he hadn’t had those experiences, we wouldn’t be here.

This interview has been edited and condensed.