It must be an interesting time to be a frequent flyer these days as more news of a plane crash, this time in Canada, hit headlines yesterday. The model in question? The Airbus A320, the same type of plane that Andreas Lubitz took down with 149 other people on board in France.

The good news is that no one was injured in the crash, with CTV News reporting as follows:

[The plane] touched down more than 300 metres before arriving at the runway and hit an antenna array on the ground.

The plane hit the runway hard at Stanfield International Airport at about 12:45 a.m. local time. Passengers say the aircraft skidded on its belly for about 30 seconds before it came to a halt.

The antenna in question forms part of the airport’s landing system. The crash itself was reportedly caused by some faulty landing gear. CTV News again, this time speaking to aviation expert Todd Curtis:

It looks as though the landing gear either sheared off or retracted and never came down and locked for landing…

Clearly the aircraft was on its belly, which means it didn’t have any of the control that you would get from the braking.

The Airbus A320 is obviously under intense scrutiny at the moment and any incident involving the model is likely to raise eyebrows around the world. Aviation experts have defended the A320, calling it a very safe plane and lauding its contribution to air travel.

I suppose we shouldn’t be too harsh on the A320, it really wasn’t to blame for a depressed maniac taking down a plane. The people responsible for allowing only one person in the cockpit, however…

[source:ctvnews]