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Air Canada Flight Makes Rough Landing in Nova Scotia Air Canada Plane Lands Short of Runway in Nova Scotia
(about 20 hours later)
A commercial airliner made an abrupt landing at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Nova Scotia on Sunday morning, clipping utility poles on entry and causing a widespread power outage. OTTAWA — An Air Canada Airbus A320 landed in an antenna array 1,100 feet short of a runway in Halifax, Nova Scotia, early Sunday morning, shearing off its landing gear, accident investigators said.
All passengers aboard the airliner, Air Canada Flight 624, were evacuated after the landing and taken to the terminal, according to a post on the airline’s Twitter account. No major injuries were immediately reported, and power to the terminal was restored after about an hour. None of the 130 people on board were seriously injured, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said, as the plane, which also clipped an electrical wire, skidded on its belly across a snowy field and then down a runway for about 2,200 feet.
After the rough landing, the airport activated its emergency center, according to ABC News. “I’d say they’re pretty lucky,” Mike Cunningham, regional manager of air investigations, said of the crew and passengers during a news conference.
Flight 624 departed Toronto Pearson International Airport about 9 p.m. Saturday with 132 passengers and five crew members. While landing, the plane overshot the runway after midnight. Mr. Cunningham declined to speculate about what caused the jetliner to land in bright orange antennas that normally guide planes to the ground during instrument landings. It was snowing at the time and several passengers told reporters that before the landing the crew announced that it was circling the airport to wait for improved visibility.
A winter storm warning was in effect for the regional airport through Sunday. Inclement weather and poor visibility were reported shortly after midnight, when the plane, an Airbus A320, touched down. “We saw huge sparks, and we hit the ground,” Dominic Stettler, a passenger, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. “Then we scraped along the ground for what seemed like an eternity.”
Air Canada said that conditions had been safe for landing.
Ambulances took 25 people to hospitals. All but one had been released by midafternoon, and that person’s condition was not considered life threatening.
The plane was severely damaged. While it lost its landing gear immediately on landing, one of its two engines was broken off along with the nosecone as the plane scraped its way to a stop. Mr. Cunningham said that major parts of the wings and entire bottom of the airplane were also significantly affected.
Adding to the confusion, the airplane’s entanglement with the power lines blacked out the airport, leaving passengers in pitch darkness after they got off the jet far from the terminal. While the flight had originated in Toronto, many of the passengers were returning from warmer spots.
Television images showed that some wearing only T-shirts and shorts. Mr. Stettler said that passengers who could not shelter in firetrucks “huddled like penguins” on the cold, snowy runway while waiting for shuttle buses.
Investigators from Airbus and the French accident board will join about 12 to 15 Canadians in the inquiry at the scene.