Passengers evacuated after collision between Westjet and Sunwing airliners when one of them was being towed and the other was waiting to park

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Passengers were forced to evacuate via emergency slides in the frigid cold on Friday night after two planes collided on the ground at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. No injuries were reported.

WestJet said an inbound from Cancun, Mexico with 168 passengers and a crew of six was stationary and waiting to go to a gate when it was struck by a Sunwing aircraft moving back from a gate.

Video footage shows flames coming from one of the planes as passengers are heard screaming. Jeremy Cohn, a Toronto news cameraman, shared audio of the mayday call from the WestJet flight to the control tower. The pilot hurriedly notifies an evacuation and fire crews are scrambled.

Spokeswoman Lauren Stewart said the WestJet passengers were evacuated from the aircraft via emergency slides and all were safely in the terminal and clearing customs shortly after the collision.

“Due to the position of the aircraft on the laneway, WestJet guests required evacuation via emergency slide. Emergency crews were on hand and responded immediately,” Westjet said in a statement.

Sunwing said there were no crew members or passengers aboard its aircraft. It was being towed by the airline’s ground handling service provider at the time of the incident.

Canada’s Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating.