Tragedy averted as Air Canada flight partially catches fire after rough landing

A potentially disastrous situation unfolded at Halifax airport on Saturday evening when the wing of an Air Canada plane caught fire during its landing.

The plane, arriving from St. John’s, faced significant challenges as it touched down, resulting in a skid along the runway.

This led to a fire igniting on part of the aircraft, which temporarily halted operations at the airport.

PlatinumPost reports that the incident occurred hours before a major Jeju Airline plane’s crash that killed over 170 persons on Sunday morning in South Korea.

Nikki Valentine, a passenger on the Air Canada flight, described how one of the plane’s tires failed to deploy correctly upon landing.

READ ALSO  : 179 passengers, crew presumed dead as Jeju Air plane crashes

“The plane started to sit at about a 20-degree angle to the left and, as 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 pavement, along with what I presume was the engine,” she recalled.

“The plane shook quite a bit and we started seeing fire on the left side of the plane and smoke started coming in the windows,” she added.

The incident occurred at roughly 9:30 p.m. local time, involving Air Canada Flight 2259, which was operated by PAL Airlines, according to an official statement from the airport.

Though the statement did not specify how many passengers were aboard, it confirmed that all individuals were safely evacuated and transported to a hangar, where paramedics provided medical attention.

Valentine estimated the plane had around 80 passengers, with a layout of about 20 rows and two seats on each side of the aisle. She noted that the flight was nearly at full capacity, and it took roughly two minutes for all passengers to exit the aircraft safely.

She further shared that one side of the plane was engulfed in flames, “so everyone was pretty much in a hurry to get off — but an organized hurry.”

Valentine also mentioned that, while the passengers appeared to be unharmed, they were visibly shaken by the ordeal.