CANADA: The Air France jet that crashed in Toronto this week was travelling at almost 160km/h (100mph) as it careened off the end of the runway during a storm and toppled into a ravine, investigators said yesterday.
They said the brakes and steering of the Airbus A340 were among items being examined in an investigation that could take months. But it was unlikely a single factor caused the fiery accident on Tuesday survived by all 309 people aboard.
"We are examining the steering and the brake units," said Réal Levasseur, lead investigator with Canada's Transportation Safety Board.
The wide-bodied jet sped off the runway and burst into flames. A few dozen people received minor injuries as they left the aircraft through escape hatches or down emergency chutes.
Mr Levasseur said the crew reported no problems as the plane approached Toronto's Pearson International Airport. The aircraft probably touched down at about 260km/h (160mph), but had slowed to only 150km/h (95mph) by the time it ran off the end of the runway.
He said thrust reversers, used to brake the plane on landing, had deployed on three of the four engines, but the fourth engine was too badly damaged for investigators to say at this stage whether the reverser had engaged or not. But he said the reversers account for only 5-10 per cent of an aircraft's braking power at landing.
"Causes to aircraft accidents are always multiple. It's never a single cause," said Mr Levasseur, leading a team of 35 from Canada and 17 from elsewhere.
Brian Lackey, vice president of operations for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority, said the jet had had enough fuel to divert to Montreal or another airport where the weather was better, but "that's the pilot's decision".
Much attention has focused on weather conditions at the airport, Canada's biggest and busiest.
The airport was under a red alert as the plane landed, which means there was a danger of lightning and thunder. Planes can land but ground activity, like the unloading of passengers, stops.
Investigators were planning to interview crew members yesterdayand are examining the plane's black box flight recorders, which could contain between 200 and 4,000 pieces of information.
The aircraft, which had been en route from Paris to Toronto, was reduced to a burned-out carcass after the accident, with pieces of wing and a gleaming, white nose visible among mangled wreckage. The team will remove items like wheels and brake fittings for investigation. - (Reuters, AP)