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An Air Canada Express plane experienced a “suspected landing gear problem” after arriving at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Nova Scotia on Saturday evening, though no injuries were reported, according to the airline.
Flight AC2259 — which took off from St. John's, Newfoundland — “was then unable to reach the terminal and passengers were disembarked using a bus,” Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said in a statement to CNN. The flight, operated by partner airline PAL, was carrying 73 passengers, the statement said.
Passenger Nikki Valentine said the plane — a De Havilland DHC-8-402, according to the Canadian Transportation Safety Board — skidded down the runway an “appropriate” distance, and passengers saw flames on the left side of the plane. CNN news gathering partner CBC.
Valentine said: “The plane shook a little and we started to see a fire on the left side of the plane and smoke started coming out of the windows.”
The Halifax incident echoed a more serious — and deadlier — incident that occurred in South Korea on Sunday morning local time, when… Jeju Airlines plane crashed at Muan International Airport, killing 179 people. Officials and aviation experts say there was likely a malfunction in the landing gear in this accident.
Although no one was hurt in Halifax, “we appreciate that this incident was troubling to customers and we will remain available to assist them,” the Air Canada statement said.
The airport was closed for about 90 minutes before one of its two runways was cleared for flight operations, Tiffany Chase, a spokeswoman for the Halifax International Airport Authority, said in a statement.
She added: “Four flights were diverted, and there were a small number of cancellations and delays while the airport was closed.”
The incident will be investigated by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, which said in a notice Sunday that it would deploy a team of investigators to the airport. They are expected to arrive later on Sunday.
The plane remains on the runway at this time, Chase said. Air Canada is waiting for the Transportation Safety Board to release the plane before returning customers' belongings.
The airline said the cause of the suspected problem with the landing gear was unknown, adding: “Out of respect for the investigative process, we cannot speculate and have no additional information to provide at this time.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
