Ghost of a flea

Fire at Pearson

CBC Newsworld is reporting an Air France A-340 has crashed at the end of the runway at Pearson International Airport in Toronto. The aircraft is reported to have as many as 200 people aboard. The plane had difficulty on landing and is said to have skidded off the end of the runway into a ravine (the Etobicoke Creek). Heavy lightning storms in Toronto today may be a contributing factor.

Newsworld cameras show black smoke billowing from the aircraft in the background while in the foreground is the 401, a busy highway during peak traffic times. Emergency vehicles are said to have been spraying the aircraft for five to ten minutes. The ravine may have been the only obstacle between the aircraft and a collision with the highway.

Update: 16:56 EST Newsworld has not released flight details. The Air France (Canada) website lists an arrival from Paris (AF358) scheduled for 15H35, the approximate reported time of the incident. Please note: I am only making a conjecture based on website flight information. Air France may have many flights arriving this afternoon and thunderstorms may have introduced a delay.

Update: 17:03 EST A Newsworld guest is saying this is an arrival from Paris. Still no specific details on the flight number are available. I see no updates on either the home or Canadian Air France websites and the Pearson website is having difficulties. BBC News reports the aircraft could carry between 250 and 305 passengers.

Update: 17:06 EST NBC is reporting this is flight number 358. This is consistent with my earlier conjecture based on Air France flight information. Newsworld is now reporting several lightning strikes were sighted by a CBC reporter at the airport immediately before the crash.

Map image quoted from: Airport Hotel Guide. The blue line intersecting the orange band of the 401 in the lower left indicates the ravine and the site of the crash. CBC is now belatedly showing the same map. And has just corrected its potential passenger numbers. Advantage: blogosphere...

Update: 17:16 EST A Newsworld guest is now suggesting a pilot has been taken to hospital. While difficult for the pilot this may suggest the plane was evacuated at least in part.

Update: 17:27 EST Planespotters.net shows 21 Airbus A-340 aircraft in the Air France fleet. A Wikipedia entry shows the July 25, 2000 Concorde crash as the last serious incident for an Air France flight. AirSafe.com claims that, until today, the A-340 had been involved in no fatal events. A Now Magazine article says the flight path under the accident location, Runway 24 (two-four) Left on Airport Road is a popular trainspotting location.

Update: 17:42 EST Newsworld is now interviewing a man (Mr. B......, I missed the first name. Update 18:34 EST: Mr. B...... who shall remain nameless, and having told the CBC he was shaken and just wanted to get home, is now on CNN calling Wolf Blitzer "Wolf" because he watches him at home all the time. And once again he does not mention the fate of the friend with whom he had just travelled from France. But I imagine a plane crash would addle a number of senses.) who was a passenger who claims to have been the second to have escaped the aircraft. He is describing a landing he describes as "feeling" too fast. The plane failed to break successfully and came to an "abrupt stop" in the ravine. He says he saw flame but has a limited description as he was "running like crazy" to get away from plane. He reports seeing lighting and that cabin lights went out as soon as the aircraft stopped (it is not clear if he means a power failure on landing or as the plane came to a stop).

CTV interviews a passenger.

Given these interesting times it is a relief to learn there is no report of an explosion on board. Reuters is reporting confirmation of the flight number.

Update: 18:11 EST A press conference by the airport authority indicates of 297 passengers and 12 crew there were only reported 14 injuries and no fatalities. This seems remarkable given the appearance of the crash site from television images and from an alarming description of the incident from an eye-witness on the ground. CNN eyewitness reports indicate swift action on the part of flight attendants in evacuating the plane as soon as it come to a stop. This suggests both Airbus A-340 safety features and Air France training have managed to do exactly what they needed to do in a potentially catastrophic situation.

So, props to Air France on the evacuation if not on the landing. On a non disaster related note is news of new Christian Lacroix outfits for the airline's flight attendants. There is a stupid pun in here somewhere... Thunder-clouds with a fashionable lining? French fashion is running away in style? Sorry, it's not coming to me. Still a relief to learn everyone has escaped something so awful.

Posted by Ghost of a flea at August 2, 2005 04:47 PM

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Comments

Posted by: The_Campblog at August 2, 2005 08:46 PM

Posted by: Andrew Ian Dodge at August 3, 2005 06:17 AM