"We were all running to the exit, and people were calm, no one was pushing. There were lots of old ladies and little children. I am tired, and would like to rest. We are flying back to France in a month. I am with a large group with some children and we need for me to calm for them. After a few weeks, I think it would be okay."
— Alix Willemez, Flight 358 passenger

"We were delayed because of the weather and my son noticed a burning smell inside our cabin. Just then the captain announced that another plane ran off the other runway. I looked out the window and I could not believe what I was seeing."
— Todd Konga, eyewitness from another flight

People were handing me their babies, their children.They didn't know if there was anyone left inside."
— Guy Ledez, helped crash survivors

"We ran across the highway and down into a ditch. Then we had to walk up a hill and back onto the highway. There was a transport truck waiting that must have seen the plane go by and everyone went into the truck. Then the truck filled up with black smoke from the plane, so we had to leave that too."
— Lauren Langille, Flight 358 passenger

"At first is was very turbulent. You could see it was a very difficult landing to make. As the two wheels touched the ground everyone felt fine. Ten seconds later, all hell broke loose. People were shaking violently, bags fell to the ground and things started to break apart. It's like a car accident, but it just didn't stop."
— Eddie Ho, flight 358 passenger

"Well I have two broken vertebrae and a broken nose. We were afraid the plane would explode. There was a lot of panic."
— Enrico Jaccomutzi Moore, flight 358 passenger

"You're just shocked. I mean you would expect this to happen in other places around the world, but not Toronto. I heard my brother's voice and I didn't care what happened. He was on the ground, and he was fine."
— Royed Hantash, passenger's brother

"When we came off there was a huge storm. It was pouring rain and we weren't exactly standing around having a coffee talking about our experiences. Everybody was running as fast as possible to get away from the plane. We got to the highway and a very kind lady gave us a ride. I really wanted to go home but you have to do your civic duty. So we went back to the airport, also because my son was waiting there. Thank God I got a hold of him on his cell phone. Because he had a few unforgettable moments. Between hearing there was a crash and not knowing whether I had gotten off."
— Roel Bramer, flight 358 passenger

"Just before we touched the ground, the lights went out. The lights inside the plane completely turned off. And I thought, okay, that's weird. And then the plane was going extremely fast. And when we landed we were rolling so fast, we were really driving very fast. Then we were off the road and really, that's when I thought we were in big trouble."
— Olivier Dubois, flight 358 passenger

"I want to pay homage to the crew. I don't know if we should speak of a miracle... but above all the professionalism of the crew."
— Jean-Cyril Spinetta, chairman of Air France

"The people around me, everybody was just running like crazy."
— Roel Bramar, a passenger on the flight.

"When he hit the runway it looked pretty good at the beginning then he started to rock and roll all over the place and just kept going off the end of the runway."
— Corey Marks, a witness.

"We're told that the plane probably landed a little late, and that's why it's off 200 metres from the runway. The weather was very severe at the time. But, having more than 300 people come out of that plane before it caught on fire is just a miracle."
— Federal Transportation Minister Jean Lapierre.

"It's like a crime scene investigation. We're going to follow every lead and as soon as we see something of importance that might have contributed to the crash we'll make that known publicly."
— Transportation Safety Board spokesman Conrad Bellehumeur.

"I'm already a nervous flyer. So this is not good news for me."
— Toronto resident Deborah Slade.