Two airplanes at Toronto Pearson International Airport collided wings on Tuesday evening.
An airport spokesperson told Global News an Air France Plane was stationary at Terminal 3 when a taxiing Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane made “light contact” around 6 p.m. ET.
WATCH: Passenger onboard plane reacts to aircrafts’ wing collision
The spokesperson said there were no injuries. Photos provided to Global News show damage to the end of a wing of a plane.
Usman Sherazi, who was on board PIA Flight PK789 when it landed in Toronto from Lahore, Pakistan at around 5:50 p.m., said he didn’t feel it when the planes made contact.
He said passengers were kept on the plane for about 45 minutes after it arrived at the gate. He said the crew didn’t say what happened and the seatbelt lights were kept on.
He said passengers had to wait for their bags for up to three hours after disembarking the plane.
Air France spokesman Herve Erschler told Global News on Wednesday that no passengers were on board the Air France plane at the time of the incident. However, he said the cabin crew and two pilots were inside the aircraft at the time.
The plane, which was supposed to depart for Paris Tuesday evening, will remain in Toronto until the “minor” damage is inspected and repaired, the official said.
“Our team is on route to Toronto to see the aircraft,” Erschler said. “The repairs must be properly performed by a maintenance team from Paris.”
No one from PIA was available for comment.
WATCH: Pearson airport confirmed an Air France plane was parked when a taxiing Pakistan International Airlines plane made ‘light contact’ and struck the parked plane. Ashley Carter reports. (Jan. 3)
Aviation expert Jock Williams said incidents like this happen a few times a year.
“When you’re taxiing an airplane, you’re sitting at the front end of a 120-foot aluminum tube and in many cases you couldn’t see the wing if you looked back for it. It’s behind your field of vision,” Williams said during an interview on Global’s The Morning Show on Wednesday.
“Secondly, you can’t be looking back at your shoulder when you’re taxiing an airplane. So we go with the lines that are painted on the ground.”
Williams said both planes are not going to fly until they are completely inspected and certified for flight.
Comments