Originally Posted by Wally Bird
Considering there would have been about 1km of 'flat grass' before meeting the 401, I imagine the airplane would have remained upright and come to a (rapid and somewhat uncomfortable) stop. Maybe a gear collapse, remote possibility of fire, but much preferable to what actually happened.
Hint: look at a map, don't trust the media.
I agree that the 401 doesn't intersect the extended centerline of 24L right away. But how close is it if pilot steers to the left before going off the runway to avoid stopping amidst all the runway end lights? If this thing went 200m before a ditch stopped it, how much further without the ditch? Plus, even if it only goes halfway to the highway, if it's still up on flat ground going in the general direction of the highway, that will be enough to have the highway closed for a day while they clean those accidents up.
Good thing this didn't happen in the opposite direction. The ravine off the end of 6R and 6L contains highway 427. 95mph off there and the plane probably doesn't even touch Convair Dr on it's way by.