I think we are talking at cross purposes. What I'm talking about is:
Relief after 'miracle' air escape
Canada's transport minister has called it a "miracle" that over 300 passengers and crew escaped from an Air France jet that skidded off a Toronto runway.
The Airbus A340 crashed in bad weather on Tuesday, slithering into a ravine before bursting into flames.
Passengers described chaotic scenes as they tried to escape Flight 358 in darkness while a thunderstorm raged.
Moments after the last survivor clambered away, the fuselage was engulfed in smoke and flames.
A total of 297 passengers and 12 crew fled the wreckage of the plane, which had tried to land in bad weather at Toronto's Pearson airport.
Airport officials said some 43 people were injured in the accident.
It was the first major crash of an Airbus A340-300 since the model's debut flight in October 1991.
Transport minister Jean Lapierre made it clear how close those on board came to death.
"I would say this is a miracle," he said. "It's nothing short of a miracle."
The Airbus crash-landed amid thunder and lightning at 1603 local time (2003 GMT).
Several passengers suggested that the aircraft might have been hit by lightning either just before or just after landing.
"It was raining hard," said Gilles Medioni, a passenger seated in the centre of the plane.
"When we touched down a lot of people clapped their hands, but it was a little premature."
Explosion fear
After touching down on the runway the plane lurched across the wet tarmac, before skidding towards the airport perimeter.
It overshot the runway by about 200m (660ft) into a shallow ravine next to Canada's busiest motorway, Highway 401, ending with its tail pointing in the air.
About 3.30pm the day turned to night as the fiercest storm we have had for a long time got into full swing
Andy Horton
Mississauga, Ontario
Passengers spoke of smoke and kerosene fumes filling the cabin as they scrambled to escape, fearful of a massive explosion.
"Everybody was jumping as fast as possible and running everywhere, because the fear was that the plane would blow," passenger Olivier Dubois told the AFP news agency.
Steve Shaw of the Greater Toronto Airport Authority said emergency services had been on standby at Pearson airport because of the developing thunderstorm throughout the day.
The airport had been under a "red alert" since midday on Tuesday because of the danger of lightning.
One witness said rescue workers reached the airliner within 50 seconds.
The Air France plane that crashed on Tuesday entered service in 1999 and was last inspected on 5 July.
It had flown up 28,418 flight hours across a total of 3,711 flights.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/a ... 741015.stm
Published: 2005/08/03 12:54:52 GMT
© BBC MMVI
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Originally Posted by ReDSanchous
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote