This thread was posted by
imverge on the Newsstand thread, but I thought this was most appropriate here as well:
Got this story on
www.cbc.ca
Air France refuses comment on report pointing to pilot error in Toronto crash
11:25 AM EDT Sep 15
PARIS (AP) - Air France said it would not confirm or deny a newspaper report Thursday that said the crash of a jet in Toronto last month could have been caused by pilot error.
Le Figaro newspaper said that analysis of one of the plane's flight recorders showed that 12 seconds elapsed between the moment the plane touched down and when pilots applied the reverse thrusters, which are used to assist braking.
The newspaper did not say how it obtained the information.
Air France spokeswoman Marina Tymen said the company had no comment on the report while the investigation into the Aug. 2 crash was continuing. She said the black boxes were still in the possession of Canadian authorities.
"We can neither confirm nor deny it," she said. "We don't comment on newspaper reports whatever they are."
Air France Flight 358 from Paris landed at Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport amid heavy thunderstorms, skidding off the runway for about 200 metres before slamming into a ravine and catching fire.
None of the 309 passengers and crew members died.
The Figaro report said that experts found the 12-second delay to be "excessive." It said that the black box recordings were expected to be made public Oct. 4.