Investigators search for Air France crash clues
Canadian investigators ruled out some mechanical problems but were still looking for answers to questions such as why all the emergency slides failed to deploy after Air France Flight 358 crash landed during a thunderstorm.
When the emergency chutes failed to open, passengers had to jump about 16 feet to safety.
Only 22 people in a plane carrying 309 passengers and crew suffered minor injuries from the crash at Toronto’s International Airport, Canada’s largest.
“We have ruled out the engine,” said Real Levasseur, a lead investigator for Canada’s Transportation Safety Board.
The plane skidded off the runway and burst into flames. Another question investigators are looking at is what caused the pilot to overshoot the runway landing.
Investigators said it would have been impossible for the pilot to have stopped the airliner after landing so far down on the rain-wet runway.
Investigators say so far there is no evidence lightning played a part in the accident.
The dozen crew members have been widely praised for getting all of the passengers off the burning airliner within 90 seconds.
Several minutes after the evacuation, the plane burst into flames. It’s gutted shell remains by the side of Canada’s busiest freeway, Highway 401.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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