Airbus pilot decided to land despite ‘red alert’
Investigators searching the wreckage found the flight data and voice recorders - the so-called “black boxes,” said Steve Shaw, spokesman for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.
Officials hope these will provide clues as to what caused the aircraft to skid off a runway on Tuesday and burst into flames.
All 309 passengers and crew escaped alive in an evacuation that took less than two minutes. Air France said 22 people were injured, while airport officials said 43 were hurt. The wreckage of the jetliner - torn into three pieces - still smouldered yesterday.
Brian Lackey, vice president of operations for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority, said that the jetliner had enough fuel to divert to Montreal or another airport where the weather was better, but “that’s the pilot’s decision.”
The airport was under a “red alert,” which indicates potential for lightning but does not prevent planes from landing or taking off, officials said.
Real Levasseur, lead investigator for Canada’s Transportation Safety Board, said the decision to land would be investigated.
He emphasised that wind shear likely wasn’t a factor in the crash because that would usually only affect aircraft in flight. He also doubted lightning played a role.
Levasseur said the black boxes were in relatively good condition: “There is some fire damage to them, but we should be able to recover the information.”
Lackey said airport workers were struck by the severity of the storm. “As we were looking out the window we were commenting that storm was extremely severe,” he said.
“Normally, if there are thunderstorms in the area, a pilot may decide to circle until it’s safe to land.”
