VIDEO: On June 2, 1983, 23 passengers died in a fire onboard Air Canada Flight 797.
The flight was coming from Dallas, Texas, and heading to Toronto, Canada, when the cabin crew discovered smoke in a rear lavatory. According to the aircraft accident report, the crew attempted to extinguish the hidden fire before contacting air traffic control and declaring an emergency.
As smoke filled the plane, pilots made an emergency landing in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Greater Cincinnati International Airport. The fire disabled virtually all cockpit instruments, forcing the pilots to land the plane while flying blind.
The airport's fire department immediately began firefighting operations after the plane landed. Passengers and flight attendants quickly exited the forward doors while the captain and first officer exited through their cockpit sliding windows.