Air Canada flight catches fire during rough landing, no casualties reported
An Air Canada flight arriving from St. John’s International Airport was forced to make an emergency landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Saturday night after experiencing a malfunction with its landing gear.
Air Canada Flight 2259, which was operated by PAL Airlines, experienced landing troubles at 9:30 AST (0130GMT Sunday) that caused skidding and an engine fire, prompting a swift response from emergency crews to ensure the safety of all onboard, several media outlets reported.
A passenger told CBC News that one of the plane’s tires did not deploy properly upon landing.
“The plane started to sit at about a 20-degree angle to the left, and, as that happened, we heard a pretty loud—what almost sounded like a crash sound—as the wing of the plane started to skid along the pavement, along with what I presume was the engine,” the passenger said.
Upon landing, the people on board were evacuated and then taken to a hangar to be checked out by paramedics. No casualties have been reported.
The aircraft involved in the incident is a 24-year-old De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400, registered C-GPNA, and powered by Pratt & Whitney engines.
Video footage captured during the incident shows the aircraft’s wings making contact with the runway surface, which caused the fire during the landing sequence.
As a precaution, flights at the Halifax airport were temporarily suspended following the incident, while as of the early hours of Sunday, one runway has reopened.
