A truck driver is facing charges after an Air Canada Jazz aircraft was struck by a fuel truck while it was taxiing to the gate at Pearson International Airport early Friday morning. It happened just after 1:30 a.m. Airline officials said three crew members and two passengers were taken to hospital for assessment but have since been released. About 50 other people on the plane were looked over by paramedics at the scene. The Greater Toronto Airports Authority said passengers were allowed to leave the airport. Police say the fuel truck driver has been charged with dangerous driving under the Aviation Safety Act. The aircraft and the fuel truck were removed from the scene. Officials said the incident did not impact operations at the airport.<doc-sep>Update: The driver of the fuel truck that crashed into an Air Canada Express plane as it taxied to its gate at Toronto's Pearson Aiport early Friday morning has been charged with dangerous driving. Original: Another harrowing experience for passengers onboard an Air Canada Express flight early Friday morning in Toronto. After not being able to land in Sudbury due to fog late Thursday night, flight 8615 operated by Jazz Aviation returned to Toronto’s Pearson Airport. Airline officials say when the plane landed and began to taxi to the gate, it was struck by a fuel truck at 1:36 am. Crews brought the aircraft to a stop; passengers exited and were escorted to the terminal. The Dash 8-300 had 50 passengers and three crew members onboard. Paramedics assessed everyone. The three crew members and two of the passengers were transported to hospital for further assessment and have all since been released. This after a fire broke out on the brakes of an Air Canada Express flight heading to Sudbury from Toronto Wednesday night. The plane was evacuated on the tarmac. There were no injuries in that incident, but it left many shaken up. CTV News caught up with Paul Frontczak as he arrived Friday morning just after 9 am at the Greater Sudbury Airport. He was onboard the flight that was hit by a fuel truck in Toronto early this morning. He described his experience. “So, I was on the last leg of my journey from Sydney, Australia and the flight was delayed several times to come to Sudbury, and finally it got released and we flew here to Sudbury. Fog was extremely thick. We circled probably about 30 to 40 minutes and then the pilot decided we’ve got to go back. He couldn’t land it. So, the landing was fine. We were approaching the terminal and on the left side, a vehicle, a large vehicle was barreling. It appeared parallel to us, but suddenly ‘bang’ it hit the front of the aircraft. Threw the aircraft in one direction, it spun to the opposite, and then it looks like either the front or the rear of it hit the back of the airplane.” said Frontczak. He says passengers began screaming after the impact. “The worst thing was, almost immediately, so it came to a stop. It seemed to be sliding and I think it was because it was wet, all the rain on the road. So, yeah, there were quite a few yells and stuff, and it stopped pretty quickly, but then we started to smell aviation fuel and that’s when panic started.” said Frontczak. Judi McMartin was also a passenger on flight 8615. “A fuel truck kind of came out of nowhere, hit the front of the plane where the pilot was, spun us around, hit the back, where I was, and it just shook. I’ve never in my life, you know if you grabbed a little kid’s toy and shook it. And scared a lot of people. I saw it coming right at the very end, so I braced myself, but most everybody else didn’t.” said McMartin.<doc-sep>Open this photo in gallery Menzies Aviation, the company that operates the fuel truck involved in the crash, said it has begun an investigation to determine what happened. Patrick Dell/The Globe and Mail Five people were taken to hospital with minor injuries and a fuel-truck driver was charged after a truck hit a plane on the tarmac at Toronto Pearson airport early Friday morning. Authorities say the Air Canada Jazz flight with 51 people on board had left for Sudbury, Ont., but turned around because of bad weather, and was taxiing back to the gate when it was struck at 1:36 a.m. A spokeswoman for Peel Regional Police said the truck hit the plane three times, and the truck driver is now facing a charge of dangerous driving. Story continues below advertisement A spokeswoman for Jazz Aviation, which operated the flight under an agreement with Air Canada, said three crew members and two passengers were taken to hospital with minor injuries, but have all now since been released. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it was deploying a team of investigators to the scene. Menzies Aviation, the company that operates the fuel truck involved in the crash, said it has also begun an investigation to determine what happened. A spokeswoman for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, which operates Pearson, said the incident had no impact on operations.<doc-sep>
A fuel truck driver has been charged with dangerous driving after the vehicle hit a plane at Toronto’s Pearson airport. Five people were taken to hospital with minor injuries after the truck collided with an Air Canada plane on the tarmac at around 1:36 a.m. Friday morning. The aircraft was taxiing to its gate, according to a spokeswoman for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, which operates Pearson. Peel Regional Police told CP24 the truck driver was charged with one count of dangerous driving. Flight 8615, an Air Canada Express flight operated by Jazz Aviation, was cleared to taxi to the gate after landing when the collision happened, Debra Williams, communications manager for Jazz Aviation said. “The aircraft came to a full stop and the crew deplaned passengers quickly and they were escorted into the terminal building,” she said. “EMS arrived to assess passengers and crew. Three crew and two passengers were transported to hospital for further assessment.” All injured have now been released from hospital. The aircraft was a Dash 8-300 with 50 passengers and three crew members onboard. The flight was en route to Sudbury when it was forced to turn back due to fog. Toronto Pearson International Airport confirmed the incident in a tweet. “At 1:36a.m. an Air Canada Jazz aircraft came into contact with a Menzies fuel truck while taxiing on the apron,” Toronto Pearson tweeted. “Airport emergency services responded. Passengers and crew evacuated safely to T1. The aircraft and vehicle were removed and no operational impact at the airport.” The Transportation Safety Board said Friday it has sent a team of investigators to Pearson to probe the incident. The extent of damage to the aircraft was not immediately clear. ---- With files from The Canadian Press