Air France Flight 358, a flight from Paris, France, to Toronto, Canada, using an Airbus A340 airliner, departed Paris without incident at 11:53 UTC 2 August 2005, later touching down on runway 24L at Toronto Pearson International Airport at 20:01 UTC (16:01 EDT). The aircraft failed to stop on the runway, plunged into nearby Etobicoke Creek, and came to rest, bursting into flames, approximately 300 metres past the end of the runway. The Airbus A340-300 had 309 people aboard – 297 passengers (two of them infants, without seats) and 12 crew – all of whom survived, with only 12 sustaining serious injuries. The accident highlighted the role played by highly-trained flight attendants during an emergency situation.
Due to poor weather, 540 flights departing and arriving at Pearson were cancelled. Many small and mid-size aircraft due to arrive were diverted to other Canadian airports in Ottawa, London, Hamilton, and Winnipeg. Most of the larger aircraft were diverted to Montreal, Syracuse, New York, and Buffalo, New York. Flights from Vancouver were turned back.
The crash of Air France Flight 358 was the biggest crisis to hit Toronto Pearson since the airport's involvement in Operation Yellow Ribbon.
Jean Lapierre, the Canadian Minister of Transport, referred to Flight 358 as a "miracle" because all of the passengers survived. Other press sources described the accident as the "Miracle in Toronto", the "Toronto Miracle", the "Miracle" Escape, and the Miracle of Runway 24L".
Read more about Air France Flight 358: Aircraft, Passengers, Accident, Weather, Dramatization, Injuries, Compensation, Aftermath
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