Outcome Of Toronto Mishap Called "Miraculous"

"Miracles, yes, they do happen."

That's not what you'd expect the deputy mayor to say after a major plane crash in his city. But you can hear the relief in Toronto's Joe Pantalone when he talks about the crash of an Air France Airbus A340 in Toronto Tuesday.

"It felt like a miracle, there's no doubt about it," he told the Toronto Star. "You saw the plane, you saw the smoke, you heard the reports and yet, everyone was safe."

Indeed, there were no fatalities or major injuries among the 297 passengers and 12 crew members on board Air France Flight 358 from Paris, as it skidded off the runway and into a creek. Some 40 passengers sustained minor injuries, according to local news reports.

It was the first mishap at Toronto's Pearson International since 1978, when a DC-9 blew a tire on take-off and ended up in the very same creek. In that mishap, two passengers were killed and 105 were hurt.

In Tuesday's Air France incident, passengers said two of the emergency chutes on board the Airbus A340 failed to deploy.  "The attendants said it was safe to jump and it was probably safer to jump than to stay on the plane," one unidentified passenger told the Star. "People were falling on top of each other. Most people were hurt exiting the airplane."

The aircraft landed at approximately 1600 local, during a severe thunderstorm, according to authorities. Some passengers told reporters the aircraft was struck by lightning while on short final.

"We were certainly approaching the runway with more than normal speed," passenger Roel Bramar told the CBC. "I thought we were coming in a little too fast." Another passenger said the cabin lights failed just before touchdown.

"People actually started clapping when we touched down," passenger Joe Abedrabblo told the Star. He said his first thought was "I don't want to die today."

It was the first crash involving an A340 since the model was introduced 13 years ago. Canada's Transportation Safety Board is now investigating.

FMI: www.tsb.gc.ca/en/index.asp