Air France Passenger Jet Crashes In Toronto

Air France passenger jet crashes during landing at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. There was no word on casualties, but reports said the jet had about 200 aboard.

(I-Newswire) - Air France passenger jet has crashes during landing at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. There was no word on casualties, but reports said the jet had about 200 aboard.

CNN has reported the flight was Air France Flight 358, which was scheduled to arrive in Toronto at 4 p.m. The jet launched from Charles de Gaulle International Airport near Paris.

"They made an approach in weather that was worse than what they anticipated," John Wiley, a retired Airbus pilot, told CNN.

According to reports, the plane was landing during a heavy downpour from a severe thunderstorm in the area.

The plane was approaching the runway at about 3:50pm when the jet skidded off the runway and crashed through barriers ending up in a ravine at the far west corner of the airport.

Rescue crews continue showering the plane with water, after the Airbus caught fire. The flaming ruin was next to the four-lane Highway 401, Canada’s busiest highway.

The last major jet crash in America was on Nov. 12, 2001, when American Airlines Flight 587 lost part of its tail and plummeted into a New York City neighborhood.