309 passengers survive Air France crash in Toronto

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An excerpt from Yahoo News Canada

TORONTO - A jetliner carrying 309 people skidded off a runway while landing in a thunderstorm Tuesday, sliding into a ravine and breaking into pieces, but remarkably everyone aboard survived by jumping to safety in the moments before the plane burst into flames.

Fourteen people suffered minor injuries in the 4:03 p.m. crash landing of Air France Flight 358 from Paris — the first time an Airbus A340 had crashed in its 13 years of commercial service.

The plane, carrying 297 passengers and 12 crew, overshot the runway by 200 yards at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, said Steve Shaw, a vice president of the Greater Toronto Airport Authority.

The aircraft skidded down a slope into a wooded area next to one of Canada's busiest highways, and some survivors said that passengers scrambled up to the road to catch rides with passing cars.
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Air France crash in Toronto

I consider this an amazing miracle that only 14 people were injured and there were no deaths from this plane crash. I've been following this on the news and it was reported that people from the plane and the co-pilot flagged down the cars from a nearby highway. Those cars that stopped picked up the passengers and assisted them as well which makes it so amazing. The whole scene was caught on Toronto's weather cam.

He said some passengers scrambled onto nearby Highway 401, where cars stopped, picked them up and took them to the airport. Two busloads of passengers were taken to an airport medical center.
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saw that.. was shocked! :jaw: its near impossible that all survived.. i'm shocked.. i guess they got the lucky odds..
 
***goosebump and speechless***

It's miracle to be survive but problem is nightmare... It stay bad nightmare for them forever... I beleive the therapies will help them if they really want to get the help.
 
Oh yeah.. nightmares about this! they're never gonna forget this for the rest of their life!

Glad they all survived.. its pretty amazing!
 
That is SO so scary. I am amazed they are all still alive!!!

That is also why I'm too afraid to fly!!

I hope they are all doing well and have people to be with while they're recovering from this!
 
Wow that is real miracle survived for them!

Yes that is true and that is called phobia means that who has bad nightmare had occured before and really scary the hell out of it.

They had to control when phobia starts to think of what it did happened to them crash by airline. They'll crying when they start with memorize of what happened to them. God will take care of them for those who had bad tremendous about those that incident. I have problem with phobia too that comes from poisonous bug bitten me it was real great painful as being like hulk. That poisonous bug name is centipede. When I start to think of what happened and I started to look out the ground to watch out for poisonous bug and scary to go outside during night time because I cannot see them.



Liebling:-))) said:
***goosebump and speechless***

It's miracle to be survive but problem is nightmare... It stay bad nightmare for them forever... I beleive the therapies will help them if they really want to get the help.
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those people are really lucky that all of them made it. Unbelieveable.

I do recall seeing D/FW airplane crash real bad when I was a kid playing outside with my best friend. Knew something was not right then smoke came out, we live around 10 mins from the airport. Ran to tell our moms,, they told oh please. you have a wild vivid imagnation..

Good Enuff a lot people died from the airplane crash... so now our moms do believe our vivid imagnations... :mrgreen: I am trying to remmy.. it could be around 1984 to 1986... have to dig that up info.
 
ahh found it...

Accident description


Status: Final
Date: 02 AUG 1985
Time: 18:05 CDT
Type: Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 1
Operator: Delta Air Lines
Registration: N726DA
Msn / C/n: 1163
Year built: 1979
Total airframe hrs: 20555 hours
Engines: 3 Rolls Royce RB211-22B
Crew: 8 fatalities / 11 on board
Passengers: 126 fatalities / 152 on board
Total: 134 fatalities / 163 on board
Ground casualties: 1 fatality
Airplane damage: Written off
Location: near Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (United States of America)
Phase: Approach (APR)
Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport: Fort Lauderdale International Airport, FL (FLL)
Destination airport: Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, TX (DFW)
Flightnumber: 191
Narrative:
While approaching Dallas runway 17L in rain and thunderstorm, the TriStar entered a microburst. At 6300 feet short of the runway threshold the aircraft struck a car on a highway, collided with two water tanks, broke up and burst into flames.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The flight crew's decision to initiate and continue the approach into a cumulonimbus cloud which they observed to contain visible lightning; the lack of specific guidelines, procedures and training for avoiding and escaping from low-level windshear; and the lack of definitive, real-time windshear hazard information. This resulted in the aircraft's encounter at low altitude with a microburst-induced, severe windshear from a rapidly developing thunderstorm located on the final approach course."
Related information/accidents:
Weather - Windshear/downdraft

http://aviation-safety.net/photos/displayphoto.php?id=19850802-0&vnr=1&kind=PC
 
I truly believe that Air France crew is taking a lot of credit for its professionalism and acted so fast -- before the fire burst out of control. Secondly, Air France Airbus A340 accident in Toronto Pearson Int'l Airport is the first accident in the history of A340 commerical jetliners since it was introduced about 13 to 14 years ago. I really think that weather is a factor that contributed to this tragic accident. Luckly, all passengers/crew survived.

I also found that something is interesting about Air France/KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (they merged about a year ago but operate independently, though) as for their profitability and revenue for their fiscal year 2004 (that ended March 2005). AF/KLM's profit is about 443 million of dollars on revenue of 24.1 billion. AF/KLM is world largest airline company in terms of REVENUE and have about 375 aircraft fleet (minus 1 because that AF Airbus A340 was totally loss).

I highly recommend Air France and KLM, because they are considered to be a world-class airline company. I also like to travel with Air Canada, which is among one of world-class airline company. I try to stay away from any U.S. major airline companies because they are highly target of terror attacks, so I feel a lot better traveling either with AF/KLM or AC. I don't mind some time consuming associated with flying from Minneapolis to Toronto, then connect to any of Air Canada flights to any U.S. cities served by Air Canada nonstop.
 
Good post, ventiCM.

I'm within an hour driving distance from Toronto so I was able to see a lot of news broadcasts and as I was watching my TV program, instantly, all local telly programs were interrupted to show the AirFrance crash. I had goosebumps just by viewing it & the magnitude of watching the fiery smoke and so on, I was really hoping there would be no casualities and so on. Just incredibly amazed that there were just a minimal amount of passengers that suffered injuries. It was later explained that all ground service by noon time, 12:30 pm had been cancelled due to weather and by the time, the AirFrance flight had descended to ground, it was "reported" that all the lights on the grounds were turned off. The plane landed & skidded and came to a complete stop in a ravine which was off the runway. Weather was a contributing factor to this as well.

Investigators said Wednesday that a heavy rainstorm accompanied by lightning and strong winds likely caused an Air France jet to skid off a Toronto runway and burst into flames, prompting 309 passengers and crew to slide down escape chutes.

The black boxes of Flight 358 from Paris will be retrieved Wednesday, investigators said. The plane skidded off the runway at Pearson International Airport after landing at about 4 p.m. Tuesday in a pounding storm.
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Air France crash - "likely" weather related
 
Yeah yesterday I was watched the t.v. news and made me feel goosebumps..
Oh geez, how can provide emergency station another side... which nearby the 401 hwy. How get there accessable in case if emergency runny away lane??? That what their point and force to rid cars go away and taken over by emergency lane and walk over the fence to pour it flames away! Pretty diffucluties.

Espically There's 2nd freak accident from 1970's and 2005 now.. Only twice but not same as kind of flight name..
 
I guess it was not their time to die. This story makes me think of the movie "Final Destination"


I am glad the people are alright...
 
Very lucky shot! I'm glad they all survived the crash! It was very fortunate for them. :)
 
I was like "wow" when I found out they all survived. They are very lucky and it wasn't their time to go! :)
 
the 300 people had beat their odds and survived i was relieved that no one was killed in this crash i have been to toronto few times sometimes it gives me chill to think of that

moonflower
 
After having watched the French and Canadian news, it has been reall remarkable to learn how things occurred, that they were able to evacuate the areoplane in 2 minutes' time and all! Waou! The French media is calling it a miracle, and Air France is applauding the professionalism of their crew to get everyone out. It's also amazing that the aeroplane did not crush over the busy autoroute. Whew... It must be scary skidding off the runway and crashing into the ravine on the side of the runway!
 
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