Synopsis
Air France Flight 358 departed Charles de Gaulle International Airport near Paris in France on 2nd August 2005. The aircraft (Airbus 340-313X) touched down on runway 24L-06R at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Ontario, Canada. The aircraft failed to stop on the runway and plunged into the ravine and burst into fire approximately 300 metres past the end of the runway. 297 passengers and 12 crew members all evacuated and survived without injuries. This accident showed the importance of flight attendants during an emergency situation.
The aircraft landed during a bad weather; winds, heavy rain and thunderstorms near the airport, and touched down further along the runway than usual. The aircraft landed on the shortest runway, 24L (2,743m). The plane did not stop at the end of the runway, but continued for 300 metres until it stopped at the Etobicoke ravine near the interchange of Dixie Road and Highway 401. A number of passengers were forced to jump from the aircraft to evacuate. The flight attendants ensured that all passengers quickly evacuated and the first officer was the last person to leave the plane within the required 90 second time.
This was the first accident involving Airbus 340 series. Air France Flight 358 ended its 14-year clean record when it entered service in 1999. The plane made 3,711 flights for a total of 28,418 flight hours. The Canadian Minister of Transport referred the Flight 358 accident as a miracle because all people onboard survived. Also the media described this accident as the ‘Miracle in Toronto’, the ‘Toronto Miracle’ and the ‘Miracle of Runway 24L’.
Aviation crash video
Part 1 of 5
Video embedded from YouTube on 23 April 2009 (see Cineflix, undated-a1)
Note: This video is missing the first minutes of the episode.
Part 2 of 5
Video embedded from YouTube on 23 April 2009 (see Cineflix, undated-b2)
Part 3 of 5
Video embedded from YouTube on 23 April 2009 (see Cineflix, undated-c3)
Part 4 of 5
Video embedded from YouTube on 23 April 2009 (see Cineflix, undated-d4)
Part 5 of 5
Video embedded from YouTube on 23 April 2009 (see Cineflix, undated-e5)
Knowledge Management Space
- Air France Flight 358 (shorter version)
- There is an edited version of this accident video. You can find it as Toronto, video 1 and Toronto, video 2.
- 2
- CBC News (2005) ‘Flight 358’ http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/plane_fire/ retrieved 23-03-2009
- 3
- Transportation Safety Board of Canada (2005) ‘Aviation Reports’ http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/2005/a05h0002/a05h0002.asp retrieved 23-03-2009
