Canada’s CBC quoted Peter Spurway, a spokesman for Halifax Airport, saying that flight AC624 “took a very hard landing” and skidded off the runway at approximately 12:35 a.m. AT.”
“Right now, we have some minor injuries. Nothing that is deemed to be life-threatening,” he said. The airline tweeted that 18 people were taken to hospital and all have now been released.
There have been reports that the plane – an Airbus A320 – hit a power line on its approach and all power at the airport was cut off, causing the emergency response center to be moved to a nearby hotel. The local utility, Nova Scotia Power, has since tweeted that power has been restored.
According to the Mail Online, passenger, Mike Magnus, said,
‘It was so chaotic at the time. I’m pretty sure the landing gear broke on it. The engine on my side popped off.”
It appears that heavy snow may have blinded the pilots as they approached the airport. There was a weather warning issued that sudden loss of visibility in the storms could be expected.
Images of the plane on the runway showed that the nose of the plane was torn off and there was damage to its wings.
Once it came to a halt all the passengers left the plane through the emergency exists. They then hurried away from the aircraft as it was leaking fuel and they feared for an explosion.
The passengers spent an hour on the tarmac in freezing conditions waiting for rescue, some without shoes which they had taken off during the flight, and others in shorts, who were coming from sunnier destinations.
CBC quotes another survivor, Lianne Clark, who said that
“There was a couple people, all bloodied. Everybody was able to get out, but what was worse was that they left us for an hour outside in the blowing snow. I mean, we’re all freezing and we’re looking and going, ‘Why isn’t anybody coming to get us?” Another added that they had to “huddle together like penguins” to keep warm.
A number of fights had to be cancelled, but the airport is now running normally.
