An advocacy group for airport safety is calling for an investigation into a recent rough landing at the Halifax airport that resulted in an engine fire and evacuation.
There were 73 passengers and four crew members on board the Air Canada Express flight, operated by regional carrier PAL Airlines, when it landed at Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Dec. 28, 2024.
Steve Mahar, a passenger on that flight, says not only was the incident frightening, but the aftermath was poorly managed.
First, he had to jump about four-and-half feet to clear the aircraft because there was no emergency platform to escort passengers.
Then, he and the other passengers were forced to stand on the tarmac for an hour in the cold.
“My parents are there. They’re seniors. They’re cold. There’s children there that are cold,” he said.
“At least get a few people blankets that you surely have in your vehicles or get them in your vehicle. The people who are the most vulnerable out here. And frankly, nothing was done for that.”
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Mahar says eventually, they were picked up by two shuttle buses and taken to a hangar.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) said in a brief report this week that a blown tire was to blame for the incident.
The report found that a tire on the left side of the De Havilland Dash 8 blew apart as the turboprop aircraft was taking off from St. John’s International Airport.
When the plane touched down in Halifax at 9:30 p.m., the blown tire caused a vibration that unlocked a brace stabilizing the landing gear. As the landing gear collapsed, the left propeller struck the runway, causing a fire in the left engine.
The group, Advocates for Safer Airports in Canada, says the TSB should go further and investigate the airport’s emergency response plan.
Doing so, says the group’s chair, Chris Bussey, could draw attention to emergency preparedness standards across the country.
“There is no oversight of an emergency planning within airports in Canada. And just the structure that they’re using, in our view, is putting passengers at risk,” he said.
Bussey added that the current system results in limited standards that airports have to follow and says Canadian aviation regulations “fall short” of the international standards.
“Nobody has a look at the emergency plan or the effectiveness of the emergency plan outside the audit of the airport authority to meet the regulation,” he said.
Halifax Stanfield International Airport declined an interview when asked for comment.
Halifax law firm, Wagners, says it has been contacted by several passengers and is evaluating whether it will represent them in a proposed class-action lawsuit.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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