American Dream

Crash Renews Focus on Runways
Pilots Criticize Toronto Airport's Lack of Arresting System

By Sara Kehaulani Goo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 5, 2005; Page D01

Quotes:

TORONTO, Aug. 4 -- The Air France jet that overshot a runway on Tuesday barreled off the pavement at 90 miles per hour, a dangerously high speed that led to renewed calls yesterday to make runways safer.

All 309 people on board managed to escape, but some aviation experts said the crash could have been avoided if the Toronto airport had installed a new kind of concrete at the end of its runways. The Air Line Pilots Association last night said the accident demonstrated the dangers of inadequate runway safety areas. "The crash of Air France Flt. 358 in Toronto occurred at an international airport that, unfortunately, does not meet international standards," the association said in a written statement.

Officials at Toronto Pearson International Airport yesterday said they think the runways are safe.

Safety officials also said the crash provided new insight into the flammability of materials on newer airplanes. The fire-retardant material now required in aircraft cabins may have helped slow the spread of flames and smoke, enabling all crew members and passengers to escape. Forty-three people sustained minor injuries.

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the accident. Yesterday, they disclosed that the crew did not declare an emergency to air traffic controllers as the plane landed.

To reduce the likelihood of runaway jets, 14 airports in the United States have installed a crushable concrete material at the end of runways. The material is a mixture of water, foam and concrete and is designed to collapse under a plane's weight, to make the plane sink into the surface to come to an immediate stop.

It is unclear whether the Engineered Material Arresting System, could have stopped the Airbus A340-300 involved in Tuesday's accident. But the technology has helped to stop three planes at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, including a 747 cargo plane flown by Polar Air earlier this year.