Instead of talking about their trip to Cancun, Mexico Jen Kirkwood and Michael Bennett are reliving a frightening ordeal on the tarmac at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
They say trouble began Friday night after their plane landed. They say they felt a jolt before seeing a Sunwing plane had backed into their stopped WestJet plane.
"Everyone was kind of shocked, ‘oh my gosh oh my gosh’, and then all of a sudden boom, it burst into flames and everyone started screaming," said Kirkwood referring to the Sunwing plane that was on fire.
“There was absolute panic. People were terrified at that point,” said Bennett.
READ MORE: Crash between 2 planes sparks flames at Pearson airport
The plane was evacuated. Kirkwood, Bennett and other passengers went down an emergency slide. Amid the confusion, they say people on the ground were telling passengers to run as fast as they could.
"So everybody was kind running around not knowing where, and there's planes and I'm thinking don't back up into me,” said Kirkwood.
Eventually the couple say passengers out in the cold, many who were wearing t-shirts and sandals were let inside a domestic part of the airport and corralled for security purposes.
Except for a bruise on Kirkwood's arm, the couple were unharmed.
"It slowly calmed. There were a number teenagers, young people. Crying. Lots of hugging, phone calls. I think in many people's mind it was a near-death experience and they were clinically traumatized by what had happened, " said Bennett.
Transportation Safety Board of Canada
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada tells CTV News 168 WestJet passengers and six crew members were on a stationary plane coming from Cancun, Mexico when an empty Sunwing plane being towed out of a gate collided with the WestJet plane.
The agency said Saturday the incident took place at 6:15 p.m.. Spokesperson Chris Krepski said the TSB will conduct interviews, examine the aircrafts and will look into how the evacuation took place including training and procedures.
It also said it has recovered flight data and cock-pit voice recorders from both aircraft, which will be sent to their engineering lab in Ottawa for analysis.
WestJet apologizes
In a statement to CTV News Saturday WestJet apologized to customers:
“WestJet recognizes how difficult and frightening this experience was for our guests and we apologize greatly for this.”
“We are currently in the process of contacting guests with letters of apology and appreciation for their patience with the evacuation process and disruption to their travel plans.”
WestJet said after the evacuation guests were taken inside the building away from the scene while it worked with the Toronto Airport Authority to ensure guests and crew were accounted for.
It said after passengers cleared customs it arranged for guests to be brought to a hotel where they could wait for their bags, contact family and warm up in a more private setting.
WestJet said catering was brought to the facility and anyone requiring a hotel room for the night was provided one.
