THE pilot of the Air France airbus 340 made a decision to land the plane at Toronto airport despite a “red alert” about lightning and having enough fuel to reach another airport.

The co-pilot of the Air France passenger jet that crashed and burned at Canada’s busiest airport will be interviewed today as investigators try to piece together why the plane skidded off the runway and burst into flames after landing in a ravine.

AN AIR FRANCE jetliner carrying 309 people skidded off a runway while landing in a thunderstorm at Toronto's Pearson International Airport last night, sliding into a ravine and bursting into flames.