What happened
On a scheduled flight from Paris to Toronto, an Airbus A340-313, registered F-GLZQ, encountered severe weather conditions during its arrival. Prior to the flight, the crew had been notified of potential thunderstorms in the destination area. As the aircraft prepared for landing on Runway 24L, reports indicated that preceding aircraft had experienced difficult braking conditions due to the weather. Onboard radar showed intense precipitation moving toward the runway from the northwest.
During the final approach, the aircraft's autopilot and autothrust were disengaged. At approximately 200 feet above the threshold, the plane drifted above the established glideslope, and its groundspeed increased. The aircraft crossed the runway threshold roughly 40 feet above the intended glideslope. During the flare, the plane passed through heavy rain, which severely limited the crew's visibility of the runway. Frequent lightning strikes were also observed near the far end of the runway.
The aircraft made contact with the runway 3,800 feet from the threshold. There was a delay in the application of reverse thrust, with the setting not occurring until 12.8 seconds after touchdown, and full reverse thrust was not engaged until 16.4 seconds after landing. Due to the inability to decelerate on the 9,000-foot runway, the aircraft exited the far end of the runway at approximately 80 knots. The plane came to a stop in a ravine at 2002 UTC, where it subsequently caught fire. While all 297 passengers and 12 crew members successfully evacuated, the incident resulted in 12 serious injuries, including 2 crew members and 10 passengers.
Findings
Investigation into the event noted that the aircraft's flight path deviated from the glideslope during the final stages of the approach. The combination of heavy precipitation and reduced visibility during the flare, alongside the delayed deployment of reverse thrust, prevented the aircraft from stopping within the available runway length.