1983 - An Air Canada DC-9 jet with 46 people aboard burst into flames in flight Thursday night and made an emergency landing at Greater Cincinnati airport. Officials said 23 people were killed and at least 18 were injured. Witnesses said the flames burned “numerous holes” in the body of the plane, which came to a halt in the middle of the runway. “There are 23 fatalities,” airport spokeswoman Lynn Sutter said. Other officials said at least 18 people were injured. “The names of the fatalities are being withheld until next of kin are notified,” Air Canada manager James Gedra said. “An investigative team is en route from Montreal,” he said. “Some of the crew are dead,” Air Canada spokesman John Wardall told a news conference in Toronto. “There are Air Canada teams from Montreal going to the Cincinnati airport now.” Wardall said the cause of the accident “will not come out for a while.” The plane, Air Canada’s Flight 797, was en route from Dallas-Fort Worth international airport to Toronto. The flight was to go on from Toronto to Montreal.
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