This just happened, apparently. A jet skidded of the runway and is on fire at Toronto’s Airport. Any of you Torontans have any more info on this?
I don’t really have any info on this, but I caught it as I was leaving lunch and heading back to work (on the TV, that is). I was scared to death when they cut into whatever show was on and that special report music began playing. The world is a scary place now-a-days.
With that said, apparently the jet over-ran (?) the runway and skid off.
The local news (CBS) is reporting that all the passengers and crew were able to get off the plane before it caught fire. I sure hope that’s true!
I’m watching CNN right now and they’re talking to an eyewitness. He said he didn’t see anyone getting off the plane. 
It seems the plane landed and went right off the end of the runway into a ravine and snapped in half. There were some thunderstorms over the airport right before the landing.
It doesn’t look good.
I just heard on CBS that they currently ‘think’ that there were no casualties and there are busloads of ‘walking wounded’ being taken to hospitals.
I hope they’re right…
http://www.cbc.ca/regionalnews/caches/pearson-fire080205.html?filename=pearson-fire080205
CBC is showing the Air France plane burning in a wooded area on the perimeter of the airport. Their report contains surprisingly little new info – the crash was due to bad weather, roughly 200 people were on board, the fire is contained and it is hard to know if everyone is evacuated due to heavy smoke…
But just because that witness to the crash itself didn’t see anyone exit, doesn’t mean they didn’t. Rescue workers are saying all they have encountered are what’s referred to as “walking wounded,” not even any serious injuries, and that so far all the passengers and crew seem to be accounted for – no one’s claiming any missing family or seatmates, etc. So even if not everyone got off safely, it sure seems as if most did. Let’s hope it really is all.
Watching CTV now. Apparently at least a small number of people left and were taken to the hospital. The word is that the plane was hit by lightning.
The eyewitness is saying some people have been transported to the hospital.
There’s supposed to be a press conference any minute now.
I hope that was everyone. Major kudos have to go out to the flight crew in evacuating even that many people, even if that’s not everyone. Apparently international aviation law requires that planes have to be able to be evacuated in 90 seconds or less when half the exits are blocked. Looks like they did an awesome job before things could’ve gotten a whole lot worse.
It’s weird that the Canadian stations aren’t yet reporting that everyone was evacuated. I wonder where the CBS is getting that that CTV isn’t?
At least one of the pilots is known to have escaped, too.
LaurAnge, I suspect they’re getting info from reporters on the ground at the scene. Apparently there was a reporter from a radio station there:
I’m crossing my fingers it’s accurate and not just wishful speculation.
I work about 15 minutes away from the airport and was just leaving work at the time that the plane was supposedly landing and the weather was really bad. Hard rains and lots of thunder and lightning.
I was wondering why traffic was so light, everyone was jammed up at the airport.
Hopefully, there will be nothing more serious than the one pilot taken to the hospital and that everyone was wearing their seatbelts when they were landing.
I dunno… I’d think that if there are any reporters ‘on the scene’ (as opposed to parked on the highway, rubbernecking) it would be the CBC. Even CTV can’t get a camera on there.
They’re definitely suggesting everyone got off, but there’s no confirmation yet. A passenger on the plane gave a phone interview - he said he didn’t know if everyone got off.
The airport press conference said that the latest information is an unconfirmed report that everyone was evacuated safely.
There are at least six channels here where I am that are showing the same live footage. I’m hoping that the reports about the people getting out before the plane caught on fire is true. That’s what I’ve been hearing and reading so far.
According to CNN, everybody got out and there were 14 injuries.
Whew!
Latest:
That’s wonderful news. The Grim Reaper can just go f**k himself today - he’s out of luck.
Oh, Death can suck it alright.