2 Air Canada Planes At Pearson Airport Nearly Crashed Into Each Other During Takeoff

Two Air Canada planes almost crashed into each other during takeoff on one of Toronto Pearson Airport's runways, and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has published its findings on what happened.

The TSBC recently published its report investigating the March 7, 2020, incident, which involved an Air Canada Boeing 777 heading to Halifax and an Air Canada Embraer 190 taking off to Denver.

The whole thing started just before 9:50 a.m. as the Embraer 190 was gearing up to take off before "it struck a bird", according to the TSB. The Denver-bound flight was carrying 83 passengers and four crew members.

Right after it hit the bird, the crew onboard made a radio call to announce that they weren't taking off.

The view of the display monitor at the control working position at the time of the near-crash at Pearson Airport.Transportation Safety Board of Canada

But, neither air traffic control nor the Boeing 777's flight crew heard them because they were reading off their take-off clearance to the 345 passengers on board, which happened to be done on the same frequency.

Just as the Halifax flight was accelerating to takeoff on the very same runway as the Denver flight, the Boeing 777 crew noticed the Embraer 190 plane on the tarmac.

"Over the next 25 seconds, the controller turned his attention to the north end of the airport, where 2 aircraft were on approach for Runway 05, and to the displays at his [control working position] twice before returning his focus to the threshold of Runway 06L, at the south end of the airport," the report reads.

"From his displays, he could see the Boeing 777 and the Embraer 190, but he saw no conflict at that time."

What happened next

The Boeing 777 flight crew quickly initiated a rejected takeoff, though the plane had reached 125 knots ground speed (about 231 kilometres per hour) by that point. According to the TSB, there were just 5,000 feet (or about 1.5 kilometres) away from each other.

"The controller confirmed the rejected takeoff with the [Boeing 777] flight crew, still unaware of the Embraer 190's presence on the runway, and waited to provide further assistance to the Boeing 777," the report reads.

As the air traffic controller searched for the Embraer 190's position in the air at the departure end of the runway, that's when they noticed that the plane was still on the ground and realized they conducted a rejected takeoff, too.

Both planes eventually got off the runway and went back to the terminal, and according to the TSB, there were no injuries or damage to the aircraft.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.