Air Canada B777 torched after vehicle catches fire on tarmac
An Air Canada Boeing 777-300 sustained damages after a vehicle parked underneath it caught fire at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) on July 9, 2023.
B777 Air Canada, aeropuerto de Montreal ampliaremos @ambientedevuelo via instagram , seguinos pic.twitter.com/QUpgLBwAP8 — Carlos Francisco Rinzelli (@rinzelli62) July 10, 2023
Dramatic footage of the incident was caught on video by several witnesses and uploaded to social media. The clips show plumes of black smoke billowing from the vehicle and enveloping the tail of the aircraft.
The incident occurred at around 15:15 local time, and no injuries or casualties were reported. The fire was contained within 30 minutes.
The vehicle that caught fire was a water truck that delivered clean drinking water to aircraft tanks. It is still not known what caused the vehicle to catch fire.
The Air Canada aircraft had just arrived from Geneva Airport (GVA) in Switzerland (flight CA 885), and remaining passengers from Geneva were quickly deplaned.
While the full extent of damage to the aircraft is still being investigated, video taken by a passenger from another plane showed the aftermath of the fire. Scorch marks that lead up to the aircraft door of the rear area of the B777 aircraft can be seen.
View of the culprit as we taxied past it pic.twitter.com/5GKAYHubDg — Ken Ying (@Ken_Ying) July 9, 2023
Aviation safety company JACDEC also uploaded an up-close look and assessment of damage sustained by the Boeing 777 aircraft during the fire.
Heat damage took a scorching toll on C-FITL. The fuselage skin directly affected by the fire where the vehicle was located shows wrinkles and needs to be replaced. Adjacent structures like stringers + frames may have been weakened as well. It is very likely this 16y old Boeing… pic.twitter.com/VtdjLqwl8s — JACDEC (@JacdecNew) July 10, 2023
Air Canada confirmed to Montreal CTV news that the aircraft is currently offline for maintenance inspection.
The incident comes shortly after the tragic news that a Montreal Airport baggage handler died while trying to dislodge a piece of luggage from a piece of equipment, presumably a baggage carousel.
Source: AeroTime
