Communiqués

TSB # A09/2006

THE TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD OF CANADA HAS BEGUN THE PRODUCTION PHASE OF THE INVESTIGATION REPORT INTO THE AIR FRANCE FLIGHT 358 ACCIDENT AT TORONTO LESTER B. PEARSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

(Gatineau, Quebec, August 01, 2006) - One year after the Air France flight 358 accident at the Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport, the team of Transportation Safety Board (TSB) investigators has produced an initial draft investigation report (A05H0002) that will be reviewed by the Board for approval or amendments.

Once the draft report is approved, a confidential draft report will be sent to persons and corporations whose interests may be affected by the report and who are most qualified to comment on its accuracy. This process is intended to ensure procedural fairness and the accuracy of the Board's final report. The Board will consider all representations and comments, amend the report if required, and may make recommendations to address any safety deficiencies. Once the final report is approved by the Board, it will be released to the public.

The TSB publishes investigation reports as quickly as possible. However, the agency must take the necessary time to do a thorough investigation and to produce a report that advances safety and meets the expectations of the Canadian public and the transportation industry.

In the case where serious deficiencies are found, the TSB advises the appropriate authority without waiting for the publication of the final report, so that the problem can be corrected. To date, the TSB has not released any safety information regarding this accident. If safety deficiencies are suspected or confirmed, the TSB will advise the appropriate authority. The TSB practice is not to wait for a final report or until an investigation is complete to make safety information public.

In the past months, the investigation team has analyzed this accident and other previous occurrences that have had similar characteristics, to better understand the contributing factors at play in this accident. TSB investigators looked at the human, mechanical and environmental factors to determine if these contributed to the accident. The analysis of the available factual information has now been completed.

Background

One year ago, on 2 August 2005, an Air France Airbus A340-313 aircraft, on a flight from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, France, with 12 crew members and 297 passengers on board, overran the end of the runway and came to a rest in a ravine just outside the perimeter of Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport. All passengers and crew members were able to evacuate before a post-crash fire consumed most of the aircraft fuselage. Two crew members and ten passengers were seriously injured.

The TSB is an independent agency that investigates marine, pipeline, railway and aviation transportation occurrences. Its sole aim is the advancement of transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.

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The photos of the accident and the investigation update issued on 16 November 2005 are also available on this site.