Airbus 340 crash at Toronto airport

[swanita]

Anyone see on the news about a plane that landed & ended up at end of runway near the 401? Quite the image on CP24. So far they say it is an Air France jet which means at least 200 people on the plane. Possible lightning strike & they even mentioned a possible terrorist event.....Only time & investigation will tell the truth of what happened. Not something we hear about everyday at Pearson International airport.

 

[ark]

An Air France jet with as many as 200 people aboard skidded off a runway at Toronto's Pearson International Airport Tuesday afternoon, bursting into flames and sending thick black smoke pouring into the air.

http://www.cbc.ca/

Looks like the weather may be the cause

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/08/02/pearson-plane050802.html


Passenger jet on fire at Toronto airport
Last Updated Tue, 02 Aug 2005 16:50:54 EDT
CBC News
An Air France jet with as many as 200 people aboard has skidded off a runway at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, bursting into flames and sending thick black smoke pouring into the air.

There is no word on the condition of the passengers and crew members on board the A340, with the plane still burning an hour after the crash.

The jet has a capacity of about 200 people.

There are reports that the airplane was trying to land in a downpour at about 3:50 p.m. when it skidded off the runway just metres from one of Toronto's busiest roads, Highway 401.

The jet crashed through barriers and ended up in a small ravine at the far west end of the airport, the fuselage tipped down and the aircraft's tail in the air.

"An Air France plane landing on runway 2-4 left went off the end of the runway in the area of Convert Drive and the 401 area in Mississauga," Peel police Sgt. Glyn Griffiths said at about 4:30 p.m. "Unknown at the time of any injuries. Flame was seen from the plane. And full response by all emergency vehicles."

The incident happened as most operations at the airport were grounded because of severe thunderstorms in the area.

Rescue crews are on the scene.

 

[45506445210414924]

Ya there giving some more details at 6:00 E/T about the crash

Pretty wild storm that hit us (Niagara) watched it come right off the lake

 

[The_Falcon]

CNN is covering this, it seems it was weather related but this obviously has the Americans interest just in case it was terrorist related.  Its kinda freaky coincidence that this is same spot another plane crashed at Pearson almost 30 years ago.

 

[Kiltmann]

Again another reason for me never to travel on a ScareBus A340 flying death-trap. I will never trust them new-found airplanes. I am one of the world's expert on planes and, in my honest opinion as an enthusiast, Airbus has never had a good record of flying. Everything from that Airbus A320 prototype crash in France in 1994, to American Airlines flight 587 in NYC in 2001, those things have been falling apart, slowly but noticeably.

CHEERS

Kiltmann/Nik

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

"I am the world's expert on planes and Airbus has never had a good record of flying."

My, my that's quite a statement.

 

[SeanPaul_031]

I am the world's expert on planes and Airbus has never had a good record of flying.

Howard Hughes is rolling in his grave

 

[Kiltmann]

This is an example of my knowledge of the Airbus/my expertise on aircraft. If you want to correct/opinion me or my writing, go ahead.

The Airbus aircraft line (A300-A380) is designed to run completely on computers/advanced avionic electronics, and has 'fly-by-wire' systems controlling your basic aircraft movement commands (climb, dive, roll, pitch, yaw, throttle movement). These are controlled primarily by electronic computers supplied either by the engines or APU (aux. power unit, sort of a 'back-up' for the engine). Also, most of the braking, flaps/slowing systems and communication/identification equipment are controlled by these systems. If your engines run out  of fuel (flashback to Air Transat 236) or if you lose all electric power, the Airbus is useless.

And to my statement above, being the worlds expert, I am just seasoned at studying aircraft and their workings/operations. I just see myself as having a vast expertise on aircraft.

 

[X Royal]

Currently watching on the news as I type. Reports of injuries but so far no reports of fatalities yet. Reports seem to point toward the weather as the cause.
Airport is completely closed for at least the next couple hours. All flights being diverted elsewhere.

Best wishes to all involved & their families and friends.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

well that is a little better with ref to Worlds Greatest Expert.

 

[Kiltmann]

I made a mistake on my part. It happens. It was corrected.

 

[aesop081]

And to my statement above, being the worlds expert, I am just seasoned at studying aircraft and their workings/operations. I just see myself as having a vast expertise on aircraft.

...And since i am the only aircrew to post in this thread so far i will caution you on a few things.   Airbus aircraft have no wose a safety record than boeing products.   The aircraft that crashed is an A340, which so far has flown with an excellent safety record.   FBW technology is proven in both civil and military aviation.   Just to clarify your previous statements, airplanes are flown by controling 3 axis of movement ( pitch, roll and yaw)   not climb/dive/whatever.   Yes throttle and all control surfaces are controle by computers that drive hydraulic motors which would be affected by the loss of EDG ( engine driven generators), thats why airplanes have more than one ( the CP-140 has 3).   Aircraft also have batteries to supply power to flight-essential systems in case of a loss of EDGs.   You are seeing only half the picture here and i would caution you to stay in your lane and have more than "book knowledge" before considering yourself as having vast expertise.

At any rate, any statement on the cause of this crash at this point is pure speculation so unless any one of you are TSB pers, you realy have no idea.

 

[Mappy]

they even mentioned a possible terrorist event

What do terrorists control the weather now?


It happened fairly close to the 401 too.....I'm surprised there were not any auto accidents!

 

[PViddy]

They are reporting 14 minor injuires, looks like everyone got off in a pretty timely fashion, cudos to the crew, GTAA Fire Dept.  .  good news. 
Very close to the 401  ??? i guess it could have been a lot worse.

cheers

PV

 

[PViddy]

Hey Kiltman,

How can you say that it was actually the planes fault like 2 hours after the event ? maybe you should work for the NTSB if your that good at deciphering crash causes.  I am not disputing your excellent knowledge of civi passenger aircraft, you may be the "worlds greatest expert" (although i havn't seen that you have been consulted on Wings or history channel lately).  But's let's find out the cause before we start spreading aircraft rumors.

From what it looks like so far, it was weather related, in which case, how can you control that ?

In better news 14 minor injuries.  Looks like great job from flight crews and GTAA FD.

cheers

PV

 

[1feral1]

This too, has made the news here in Australia, and I heard it first on the 0700 news on 4GB AM radio on the way into Enoggera this am. We are now hearing reports too, that there was no one killed, which is good news.

Cheers,

Wes

 

[Kiltmann]

I was blinded by my ignorance and supposed intelligence as an 8-year veteran on flying in general, thinking I had more knowledge in the field of aviation. That earned me a mild consequence. Like I said above, we all make mistakes. I should have done supplementary research on the topic.

Let me rephrase the response(s) above. No aircraft are 'fault-free'. Whether it be the newer, all-digital, fly-by-wire/computer-controlled aircraft like the A380, A340, 777 series or the old-school, cable-controlled 707s, 727s and 737 classics, or those built in-between.

I guess what I am trying to say is, Airbus is just as safe as Boeing, but, in the aviation community, the Airbuses are mostly frowned upon because of the computerized systems.

Anyway, just wanted to make a point. Thank you aesop for pointing out my mistakes and faults. And thank you, PV for pointing out my faults as well. Maybe I shouldn't judge a plane make by it's accident reports. Just something to think about.

Cheers,

Nik.

PS: aesop and PViddy. No hard feelings. We all have our good and bad days, eh?

 

[swanita]

What do terrorists control the weather now?


It happened fairly close to the 401 too.....I'm surprised there were not any auto accidents!

The terrorist thing was something that was quickly mentioned as I was typing is all. But I definitely have to agree with you on the zero accidents on the 401  . The rate that people stop/slow & gawk (but who could blame them at a site such as this!!) I'm also REALLY surprised there weren't any accidents. The last shots of the 401 I saw was quite shocking....pretty empty at this time, actually compared to ANY time really!!  ???  ???.

 

[Mappy]

Im originally from Mississauga, and whenever I go on the 401 near Pearson, I'm always guilty of watching the planes while driving.  I probably would have slammed on the brakes if I saw the plane skid off the runway.