Air Canada Flight Makes Emergency Landing; Aircraft Catches Fire During Runway Skid – One America News Network
OAN Staff Abril Elfi
12:50 PM – Sunday, December 29, 2024
An aircraft made an emergency landing without deploying its landing gear and caught fire upon skidding down the runway at a Canadian airport.
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On Saturday, Air Canada Flight 2259, arriving from St. Johns, ignited when its landing gear failed to deploy correctly during landing, as reported by CBC.
Peter Fitzpatrick, a spokesperson for Air Canada, told the Toronto Star that the flight encountered a “suspected landing gear issue,” but there were no serious injuries among the 73 passengers on board.
Nikki Valentine, a passenger on the flight, detailed the incident to CBC.
“The plane tilted about 20 degrees to the left, and at that moment, we heard a loud noise that sounded like a crash as the wing started to slide along the pavement, likely accompanied by the engine,” Valentine reported. “The aircraft shook significantly, and we saw fire erupt on the left side and smoke entering the cabin.”
She added that the plane skidded along the runway for a considerable time as the pilots worked to manage the situation.
Valentine noted it took nearly two minutes for all passengers to evacuate once the jet came to a stop, by which point it was mostly engulfed in flames. They were then transported via bus.
Halifax Airport was shut down for approximately 90 minutes to allow emergency services to extinguish the fire and remove the aircraft from the runway. During this time, four flights were diverted, and many others experienced significant delays or cancellations.
The runway was subjected to thorough inspections before normal operations were reinstated, according to airport authorities.
This incident occurred just hours after a South Korean plane skidded down the runway, collided with a wall, and caught fire, resulting in the deaths of 179 individuals.
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