Air Canada (Montreal) flight AC 624 from Toronto (Pearson) to Halifax, Nova Scotia with 133 passengers and five crew members made a hard landing and “exited runway upon landing at Halifax” shortly after midnight (Atlantic time) this morning according to a statement by Air Canada and media reports. Weather at the time was gusty winds, low visibility and light snow. The aircraft reportedly hit power lines.
Here is the statement:
Air Canada provides the following update on flight AC624, an Airbus A320, that was involved in an incident upon landing at Halifax International Airport, Nova Scotia. The incident occurred at approximately 24:43 AT Sunday March 29 (23:43 ET March 28).
The passenger list indicates the airplane was carrying 133 passengers and 5 crew members.
All passengers and crew deplaned the aircraft. Air Canada can confirm that 23 passengers and crew sustained non-life threatening injuries and have been transported to local hospitals for observation and treatment.
Air Canada personnel are currently on site providing assistance to passengers and additional Air Canada teams are on their way.
No further details are available at this time, however Air Canada will provide regular updates on Twitter and on its website at aircanada.com as information becomes known.
Air Canada will be cooperating fully with authorities in their investigation.
Later Air Canada issued this statement:
Air Canada confirms that all but one of the passengers and crew admitted to area hospitals for observation and treatment have now been released.
“We at Air Canada are greatly relieved that no one was critically injured. Yet we fully appreciate this has been a very unsettling experience for our customers and their families, as well as our employees, and we are focused on caring for all those affected. We will also fully cooperate with the Transportation Safety Board as it begins an investigation to determine the cause,” said Klaus Goersch, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Air Canada.
Additional Air Canada management personnel have arrived in Halifax to provide assistance to passengers and their families.
No further details are available at this time, however Air Canada will provide regular updates on Twitter and on its website at aircanada.com as warranted.
Family members who seek information about passengers on Flight AC624 may telephone Air Canada at 1-800-961-7099Call: 1-800-961-7099.
Flight AC624, an Airbus A320 carrying 133 passengers and five crew, was involved in an incident upon landing atHalifax International Airport, Nova Scotia. The incident occurred at approximately 00:43 AT Sunday March 29 (23:43 ET March 28).
Video Above: From The National.
Read the full report from CBC: CLICK HERE
Below Copyright Photo: TMK Photography/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-211 C-FTJP (msn 233), was delivered new to Air Canada on October 16, 1991. The aircraft is a probable insurance write off. C-FTJP sits between flights at the Toronto base before the accident.
We have a relatively intact aircraft and the CVR and FDR both have been recovered. Things went bad very fast while the plane was shooting an instrument approach. The aircraft was at an altitude that was inconsistent with the nominal flight path at that point in the approach and hit the power lines. Heavy wind gusts may have caused a sudden downdraft and the pilot didn’t have time to increase power to maintain proper altitude. The elevator on one side was destroyed which controls the aircraft’s ability to ascend or descend in a controlled way. It’s a miracle that the plane did not actually crash, killing all aboard. The plane hit a berm 700 ft short (1000 ft short of the actually touchdown zone).of the runway and and that is where the landing gear was torn off, both sets from the wings and possibly the nose gear as well then bounced onto the approach of the runway where it continued to slide. At the top of the berm the aircraft took out 14 localizer antennas.when it hit it the bern.The aircraft’s belly carved out an imprint clearly visible in the snow at the top of the berm. Halifax airport was so slow in picking up the passengers who were waiting in blowing snow for an hour. Halifax Airport never anticipated that an landing aircraft being buffeted by high winds could clip the overhead hydro line to the airport. Oh my goodness, now Halifax Airport will think about burying the line.
Thank you Nalliah for the additional details and insight. It sounds like a severe downdraft hit the aircraft on the approach but we will have to wait for the investigation to issue their report. Thunderstorms do happen in snowstorms.
All the best.
Bruce