Flight 358 crashed at Pearson!!!

[Elie]

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/08/03/toronto.crash/index.html

Thankfully no deaths, all survived with minor injuries.

Also I'm surprised no one mention this, I even smelt the after math downtown as it was covered with a thin haze of smoke!

Regards,
Elie

[Tjalfe]

the weather was pretty nasty at that time, I am surprised they even tried landing.. good nobody got hurt though

[SpiralDragon]

hay elie... how are you..... kifak ya sadiki.....

good thing no caulties..... heard about it on the news earlier.... ironic thing is people got ingured during the evac mostly

[ZokesPro]

I heard that Air France is trying to blame the airport instead of the weather.

[Tjalfe]

I heard that Air France is trying to blame the airport instead of the weather.

how would they do that?.. the landing strip was stationary .. sounds like blaming a tree for hitting a car

[Nowhere]

Well, everybody always blame French, so for once its their turn...

[ZokesPro]

how would they do that?.. the landing strip was stationary .. sounds like blaming a tree for hitting a car

That's what I heard briefly on the news before the channel was abruptly changed. I know, sounds ridiculous.

[Tjalfe]

That's what I heard briefly on the news before the channel was abruptly changed. I know, sounds ridiculous.

maybe if the tower said the runway was clear to land and the weather was nice, but I hardly see that being the case

[Elie]

My views on this is the control tower allowed the plane to land, when all other flights were redirected to Buffalo and surrounding airports, so something is up from that perspective.

The plane I think actually got struck by Lightning and was hydroplaning on the runway due to heavy rain, it coudn't stop for whatever reason which is why it crashed at the end of it.

Regards,
Elie

[Dr Mordrid]

IMO as long as they had fuel and were circling anyhow (they were) they should have been re-routed out of that weather. In other words: flight control most likely screwed the pooch.

Whatever the cause that planes crew and passengers were WAY more than lucky.

Dr. Mordrid

[Brian Ellis]

[tongue in cheek] Maybe God had decided the French had taken enough flak from Americans and decided to show them a miracle whereby 300 people can walk away from what was a really serious crash [/tongue in cheek]

From what I understand, the plane hit an up/sidedraught just before the start of the runway, requiring manual correction and it actually touched down about ½ way along the runway. The reversed reactors couldn't slow it sufficiently and the brakes were ineffective because of aquaplaning in the relatively short distance left. Speculatively and with hindsight, maybe the pilot should have aborted his landing, if this be the case.

However, the enquiry should not take long to establish the facts. Both "black boxes" have been recovered in good nick, the ATC recordings are intact and the two pilots (and, thankfully, the passengers) are available for testimony.

What should be said is that the cabin staff displayed the utmost professionalism in the way the plane was evacuated in about 80 seconds. A BIG bravo should be accorded to them, [tongue in cheek] even if they were French. [/tongue in cheek]

[ZokesPro]

maybe if the tower said the runway was clear to land and the weather was nice, but I hardly see that being the case

B'ah, forget what I said, I wasn't well informed to begin with.

[Elie]

One thing I give the crew of Flight 358 credit for is that they were able to evacuate the whole plane in less than two minutes

Good job!!!!

Regards,
Elie