At 16:03 (23:03 romanian time) Air France Flight 358 crashed at Toronto’s Pearson Airport. The plane was attempting to land in the middle of a severe thunderstorm and skidded off the runway into a wooded area surrounding the airport.
On board there were 297 passengers and 12 crew members. Air France authorities said that 22 passengers suffering minor injuries are treated at area hospitals. The pilot and co-pilot survived the crash.
A BBC Report sais:
The plane crashed through barriers and fell into a small ravine, tail in the air.
It overshot the runway by some 200m (660ft), Steve Shaw of the Greater Toronto Airport Authority told reporters at a hastily organised news conference.
Mr Shaw said it appeared that all the passengers were evacuated before the plane was “heavily damaged by fire”.
One witness said rescue workers got to the airliner within 50 seconds.
Mr Shaw said the airport had been under a “red alert” since midday Tuesday because of danger of lightning.
“There was quite a downpour,” CBC journalist John Finday said.
“The visibility was really bad, with lots of lightning.”
The A340 has an excellent safety record – with no crashes reported before Tuesday, aircraft expert David Learmount told the BBC.
“Modern airliners are like that. They don’t have accidents. If this one has had an accident it’s the first.”
The aircraft was an Airbus A340-313X.
A completly list with the major incidents of Airbus A340 you can find here: http://www.fsaviation.com/%7eairvideo/a340/operators/incidents/incidents.html
Here are 2 photos, one from the incident and the second with an Airbus of Air France:
Photographer: Lee Thomas
Toronto – Lester B. Pearson International (Malton) – August 2, 2005
Photographer: Jérôme Mervelet
Paris – Charles de Gaulle Airport – April 30, 2005
