Posted on 08/02/2005 1:28:25 PM PDT by mitchbert
Breaking News from CFRB 1010AM News Radio - Toronto
Airliner on fire on the ground at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ). Unclear as to cause. Announcers asking for updates from motorists in the region on HWY 401. Report says great deal of smoke. I have to go into a meeting shortly but I'll listen for updates as long as I can.
Agree, some flames appear to be shooting 50 feet in the air.
Yeah, travel board with many air crew saying that it's an AF Airbus 340-300 that's the daily flight from CDG. They keep trying to correct media who are saying it's a 737
Probably A340 Airbus.
Its an Air France Airbus A340-300
Per CNN: Presser scheduled at top of the hour.
Pearson Airport website flight tracker has crashed.
Media are clueless when there is a crash, always.
200 souls on-board. Prayers for those people.
It's actually pretty routine complete confusion of the facts typical of breaking stories.
Airline Air France
Flight Number 358
Departure City (Airport) Paris, France (LFPG)
Departure Time 08/02/2005 01:15 PM
Arrival City (Airport) Toronto, ON, Canada (YYZ)
Arrival Time 08/02/2005 04:07 PM
Remaining Flight Time 00:00
Aircraft Type A343
Current Altitude 0 feet
Current Groundspeed 0 mph
Flight Status Arrived
Fox News: Cavuto now saying plane is a landing Air France plane.
Did the people get off the plane?
SAM??? God, I hope not....
Here is a long loop, looks like there has been weather in the area for the last hour or so. From my experience, most American airports would go on ground stop with storms like this.
Loop:
http://www.easternuswx.com/bb/uploads/post-332-1123015448.gif
First A340 crash IIRC, its a good plane, I've been on lots of them, including AF's.
Skidded off of 25L into a ravine.
Could someone get an airport diagram up?
I think you're right about the ground stops. I've sat through enough of them.
Probably not enough if it crashed on landing and went into a ditch. Hopefully some will be able to escape, but it's a question of how quickly smoke got into the cabin and obscured exit routes and whatnot.
Don't see people mulling about in the grassy areas, a sizable creek surrounds the other sides, suggesting that few made it off the plane.
Hopefully I'm wrong on that, and the following, but it sure has taken a long time for any of the firetrucks gathered around the edge of the runway to get moving down off the pavement and to where they could get water on the fire. Do they not drill for a plane sliding off the runway? I'm not a fire expert, but the response appears to have been slow, timid, and inadequate.
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