Plane catches fire while skidding down runway during rough landing in Canada
Chaos broke out at a Canadian airport after a plane experienced landing problems and burst into flames as it skidded down the runway. Fortunately, there were only minor injuries.
Halifax Stanfield International Airport was closed Saturday evening after an Air Canada flight from St. Johns caught fire when the wheels failed to deploy properly during landing. CBC reported.
A passenger on Air Canada Flight 2259, operated by PAL Airlines, described the horrific event.
Nikki Valentine told CBC: ‘The plane started to sit at about a 20-degree angle to the left and when 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 sidewalk, along with what I assume was the engine.
“The plane shook quite a bit and we started seeing fire on the left side of the plane and smoke coming through the windows.”
She said the plane skidded roughly along the runway for a “considerable” period of time as pilots frantically tried to rectify the situation, which occurred around 9:30 p.m.
Once the plane came to a stop, Valentine said it took about two minutes for everyone to get off the plane – which at that point was partially engulfed in flames. Passengers were loaded onto a bus after leaving the plane.
An Air Canada plane experienced landing problems and burst into flames while gliding down the runway
Shocking footage showed the plane apparently losing control as it skidded down the runway as the plane began to burn
Shocking footage shows the plane on fire as a wing drags on the runway, causing a loud screeching sound.
“One side of the entire plane was on fire, so everyone was pretty much in a rush to get out, but in an organized rush,” she told CBC.
Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said Toronto star that there was a ‘suspected problem with the landing gear’ during the flight, but that none of the 73 passengers were seriously injured.
A spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), who responded to the scene along with paramedics, said minor injuries were reported.
One of the airport’s runways has been reopened since the shocking landing. An investigation into the incident is underway to determine exactly what went wrong.
The Air Canada plane crash came just hours after a South Korean passenger plane skidded off the runway and crashed into a concrete wall, killing at least 85 people, according to the Associated Press.
The Jeju Air flight was returning from Bangkok when the heartbreaking scene unfolded at Muan International Airport.
No one was seriously injured in the incident, which is under investigation
The front landing gear of the 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 reportedly failed to deploy.
Lee Jeong-hyeon, head of the Muan Fire Station, said the plane was completely destroyed and firefighters were searching for bodies scattered on the runway due to the impact.
At least 32 fire engines and several helicopters responded to the crash to try to contain the blaze on Sunday morning (local time).