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Seach on for jet's black boxes
03/08/2005 20:24 - (SA)
Michel Comte
Toronto - Investigators said on Wednesday a lightning storm that battered Toronto probably played a key role in the crash landing of an Air France jet while the crew was hailed for their bravery after all the passengers survived the fiery ordeal.
The Airbus A340 jet still smouldered a day after it hurtled 200m past the runway at Toronto's Pearson
International Airport. Canada's transport minister Jean Lapierre
said it was a "miracle" that none of the 297 passengers and 12 crew
were not killed.
Passengers leaped down escape chutes and ran for their lives as
fire raced through the jet which ended up in a ravine.
Survivors later told how they saw lightning flashes and some
thought the plane was hit as it came in to land.
Bad weather was "certainly partly to blame," said Don Enns,
senior technical investigator for the transportation safety board
of Canada.
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"It was definitely an extreme storm. It was something that we
hadn't seen here in some time," added Brian Lackey, vice-president
of operations for the Greater Toronto airport authority.
Investigators on Wednesday looked for the jet's black boxes
while officials praised the Air France crew for the speedy
evacuation. "As soon as the plane stopped, they immediately opened the side
of the plane where they couldn't see any flames, and then they told
us to jump," said passenger Olivier Dubois.
A crew member was hospitalised after taking a final
look through the burning jet for any trapped passengers.
- AFP
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