An Air Canada Express flight made an emergency landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Nova Scotia on December 28 because of a suspected landing gear issue.
In a statement, the airline confirmed that “a suspected landing gear issue” occurred, but no injuries were reported. The emergency landing resulted in a fire.
Flight AC 2259, which arrived from St John’s, Newfoundland, was “unable to reach the terminal”, and passengers were instead offloaded via bus, Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick told CNN.
The flight, operated by PAL Airlines, carried 73 people on board.
Passenger Nikki Valentine told CBC News that the aircraft “skidded down the runway for a decent distance”.
“The plane shook quite a bit and we started seeing fire on the left side of the plane and smoke started coming in the windows,” she added.
Videos circulating on social media, filmed from a passenger’s seat window, show flames engulfing the external left side of the plane near the wing.
This incident occurred just one day before a deadly incident in South Korea, where a Jeju Air flight crashed at Muan International Airport, killing 179 people. The authorities and experts have suggested that a landing gear malfunction might have played a role in both incidents.
Although no one was hurt in the Halifax incident, Air Canada, in its statement, acknowledged the unsettling nature of the situation for passengers and said it was available to assist them.
It added: “Out of respect for the investigative process, we cannot speculate and have no additional information to provide at this time.”
The airport was closed for approximately 90 minutes, during which several flights were diverted while others faced cancellations or delays.
In a statement, Ms Tiffany Chase, a spokeswoman for the Halifax International Airport Authority, said: “Four flights were diverted and there were a handful of cancellations and delays while the airfield was closed.”
Halifax Stanfield International Airport, in its latest update on Instagram, said: “The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has completed its review and approved the aircraft’s removal (from the runway).”
Source: The Straits Time
Bd-pratidin English/ Afia
