Breaking about 30 minutes ago was something quite awful that happened on a routine Air Canada flight #190 from Victoria to Toronto.

I’m not talking about the kind of situation I spoke about regarding strangers and unaccompanied minors. Instead, we’re dealing with people who have apparently been seriously injured.

What does this have to do with service? Well, the fact that Air Canada flight #190 had to be diverted into Calgary in order for the seriously injured to receive medical treatment, I’d say a lot of service is going on as we speak! Apparently a dozen or so ambulances greeted Air Canada flight #190 upon its safe landing in Calgary. 30 to 40 passengers have minor injuries with about 15 seriously injured (no fatalities, according to CTV news this morning at 8am or the National Post Web site).

I’ve flown Air Canada a great deal of times and have made the trek across the country to Toronto. It’s a long one, and a crowded one and I have no idea how such a large number of people could end up injured like this. Weather? Winds? Cause? At this point, I don’t really know.

THE FOLLOWING WAS UPDATED AT NOON PST:

According to CBC, Air Canada flight #190 had a  computer failure and the pilot was flying the plane manually. What’s horrifying to me, at least, is that some of the arm rests were bent 60 degrees. That takes a lot of force. That takes a lot of trouble.

In addition to my concern over the plane’s computer failure (which is something I don’t even really try and think about when I book my flight with Air Canada), my thoughts are with those injured and their families.

darren