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Canada  

Plane slides off runway

UPDATE: 12:40 p.m.

A man who was on an Air Canada flight that had a frightening landing in Toronto says some oxygen masks dropped when the plane hit the runway, but everyone was OK.

Paul Varian of Burlington, Ont., says he was one of the 112 passengers aboard the flight when the plane lurched left off the runway and came to a "very sudden stop."

Varian says passengers were thrown forward in their seats and a few oxygen masks dropped. He noticed brown and black debris on his window, which he says may have come from a blown-out tire beneath him.

"We could see that clearly there was a lot of mud on the underbelly and the left-hand side of the plane," he says. "The tires were completely blown out on the left-hand wheel ... but the plane didn't appear significantly damaged beyond that."

Passengers left the plane while it was still on the runway and were bussed to the terminal.

The plane has now been moved off the runway, and the Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident. 


ORIGINAL: 7:30 a.m.

The Transportation Safety Board is investigating an incident involving an Air Canada flight from Halifax that landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Friday night.

A safety board spokeswoman says Flight 623 was carrying 118 people and so far no injuries have been reported.

Julie Leroux says two safety board investigators were sent to the airport Friday night.

She could not confirm media reports that the aircraft slid off the runway onto grass during the landing because of heavy rain.

She says the aircraft will be moved to a hangar at the airport to be examined.

Leroux adds that the investigators will ask for the flight data recorder -- also known as a black box -- as well as examine weather conditions, and conduct interviews with passengers and Air Canada.



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