Mechanical problems ruled out in Air France crash

TERRY WEBER

Globe and Mail Update

Investigators probing the crash of an Air France's flight 358 in Toronto have ruled out engine malfunction as the cause of the accident.

“For all intents and purposes, nothing was wrong with the engines,” lead investigator Réal Levasseur, with the Transportation Safety Board, said.

“They were functioning exactly the way that they were supposed to be working.”

Similarly, he said, brakes and brake pressure on the Airbus A340 jet also appeared to be working properly as were the crafts other systems, structures and controls.

“It seems the airplane was running fine at the time,” he said.

Last Tuesday, the Air France flight crashed at Toronto's Pearson International Airport after running off the runway and into a ravine upon landing. All 309 passengers and crew escaped the wreckage. The aircraft itself caught fire and was essentially gutted.

Given factors that have been ruled out, Mr. Levasseur said investigators will look at weather conditions. Asked if human error also remained as a factor, he would only say that the board's mandate does not include assigning blame or liability.

“We don't look at human error that way,” he said, adding that investigators are instead looking at the circumstances that would have prevented the plane from being successfully landed.

He also said he has formed no theories about what might have happened on the day of the crash.

Clean up at the crash site is expected to begin Tuesday. Investigators will return to their laboratories in Ottawa by late this week to continue their efforts.

“That is where I will reassemble the team and that is the work of the analysis will take place,” he said.

Join the Discussion:

Sorted by: Oldest first
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Most thumbs-up

Latest Comments

Most Popular in The Globe and Mail