Air Canada plane misses runway at Halifax airport
Twenty-five people were taken to hospital on Sunday after an Air Canada plane landed short of the runway at Halifax airport during a snowstorm.
Air Canada said Flight AC624 had left Toronto on Saturday with 133 passengers on board and landed at 12.43am on Sunday, the Guardian reports.
The plane's nose cone and landing gear were ripped off during the incident.
A regional manager for Canada's Transport Safety Board, Mike Cunningham said: "They touched down 1,100 feet [330 metres] short of the runway so I'd say they're pretty lucky."
Cunningham added that they wouldn't rule out the weather as a factor in the incident and that the plane was significantly damaged after it hit a bank of antennas and skidded on the runway before coming to a halt.
Peter Sturway, a spokesman for Halifax Stanfield International Airport confirmed that there was snow on the runway at the time of landing but has not said whether this was a factor in the accident, ABC reports.
Klaus Goersch, Air Canada's chief operating officer, said: "All of us at Air Canada are greatly relieved
that there have been no critical injuries as a result of this incident."
Mike Magnus was sitting in the front row of the plane and dismissed the idea it was a 'hard landing', saying: "This was an actual crash," adding: "It was the closest I've ever come to death. There is no doubt in my mind," the Guardian reported.
Environment Canada had released a warning to the Halifax region that visibility may be compromised during periods of heavy snow, but Goersch maintains that the conditions were fine for landing.
The plane's 'hard landing' is said to have severed power cables at the airport, momentarily shutting down the power for the entire airport, the National Post reports.
Passengers were evacuated from the plane quickly and all but one of the 25 taken to hospital have been released.
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