Halifax airport runway reopens after plane caught fire upon landing

CITYnews halifax /By Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press

HALIFAX — The plane that caught fire upon landing at Halifax’s airport over the weekend has been removed, and the runway has reopened.

A spokesperson with the Halifax Stanfield International Airport said Monday the runway reopened at 10:15 a.m., leaving both of the airport’s runways available for regular flights.

An Air Canada Express flight operated by the regional carrier PAL Airlines, arriving from St. John’s, N.L., experienced a rough landing at approximately 9:30 p.m. Saturday night.

A passenger on the De Havilland DHC-8-402 aircraft described feeling a “massive rumble” upon touching down and says sparks and flames were shooting out from under the wing of the plane.

In an emailed statement Monday, a spokesperson with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said the aircraft was removed from the runway and “taken to a safe location” late Sunday night.

The safety board’s investigation is ongoing, and will include a technical examination that focuses on the aircraft’s left-side landing gear, the spokesperson said. The investigation will also evaluate factors like the operation of the plane, meteorological conditions, maintenance history and others.

Nikki Valentine, a passenger on the flight, said she was shaken by the experience. “The cabin tilted, we saw sparks and then flames and then smoke started getting sucked into the cabin,” she told The Canadian Press in a direct message over social media Sunday.

Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick said late Saturday that the plane experienced a “suspected landing gear issue” after arrival and was unable to reach the terminal. Fitzpatrick said the crew and 73 passengers were off-loaded by bus and nobody on board was injured.

The incident temporarily halted flights at the airport.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 30, 2024.

Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press