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Aviation

‘Big Ball of Fire.’ Plane Carrying 168 Passengers Involved in Crash at Toronto Airport

By
Lisa Marie Segarra
Lisa Marie Segarra
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By
Lisa Marie Segarra
Lisa Marie Segarra
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 6, 2018, 10:17 AM ET
Westjet Boeing 737-800 at Pearson International Airport
Westjet Boeing 737-800 at Pearson International Airport ready to be boarded by passengers. Photo by Roberto Machado Noa—LightRocket/Getty ImagesRoberto Machad Noa—LightRocket via Getty Images

A ground collision between two planes at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport Friday night sparked a fire on one of the planes and led to the evacuation of the other.

A WestJet flight arriving from Cancun was carrying 168 passengers and six crew onboard when a Sunwing plane carrying no passengers or crew backed into it, according to the CBC.

One passenger, who was with his 12-year-old son and wife, told the network he saw a “big ball of fire,” which lit up the windows of the right side of the plane just after the collision.

Another passenger described what he thought was fuel “spewing” from the crash.

“After a couple of seconds the entire thing ignited and it was chaos inside the plane,” WestJet passenger Gustavo Lobo told the CBC. “People screaming and panicking all while the flight attendants shouted to try and control the situation.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdlmXHTnePV/

Beverly MacDonald, a Greater Toronto Airport Authority representative, told the network an investigation was underway.

The only injury, MacDonald said, was to a member of the Toronto Pearson Fire and Emergency Service. The extent of that injury was not disclosed.

About the Author
By Lisa Marie Segarra
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