Skip to main content

On Sunday, March 29 at 12:30 local time, early in the morning, an Air Canada flight enroute from Toronto, Ontario (CYYZ) to Halifax-Stanfield airport in Nova Scotia crash landed in Halifax (CYHZ).  It hit an antenna array on the runway threshold which ripped off the landing gear. 25 people were injured in the crash. The Airbus A320 133 passengers and 5 crew members.

Image courtesy of Global News

Image courtesy of Global News

The landing gear of the Airbus A320 hit the orange antenna ray, which is part of the airports instrument landing system (ILS) 335 meters (1100 feet) short of the runway as it landed on Sunday morning. It skidded for another 300 meters or so before coming to a stop.
The collision with the antenna caused the main landing gear to rip off and separate from the aircraft. The aircraft then climbed the embankment up to the runway level, skidded on its belly and stopped.
Image Courtesy of Global News

Image Courtesy of Global News

The aircraft, registered CFTAJ was circling the airport for half an hour at 9000 feet before attempting to land, and investigators are investigating if this had in any way contributed to the accident.  Though stormy, the weather was within limits and suitable for a safe landing at the time of the accident.  One of the main questions in the investigation is why the aircraft was in such a low approach.
Image from Business Insider

Image from Business Insider

The  damage to the plane is extensive. The planes nose detached as well as the port side engine, and a wing was severely damaged.  All three landing gear had detached.  The photos show the considerable damage to Flight 624.
It is unbelievable and very lucky that no one was seriously injured in this accident.  Every one on board was fortunate to have survived this crash landing.
 

Alicja Gados

I was born in Europe (Poland) and moved to Calgary as a young kid and grew up in Canada. I began graduate school in Edmonton, Alberta where I also began ground school and my private pilot’s license training at Edmonton city centre, the now closed, Blatchford field, CYXD (most operators have moved a short way west to Villeneuve). I moved to the rocky mountains, I transferred flight schools to very busy, and windy Springbank airport – CYBW near Calgary. This move was overwhelming, at best. This is a blog about my experience learning to fly, acquiring more flight experience and ratings but also about general aviation topics, news and gear reviews. I’ve discovered that flying takes a lot of studying, work and dedication, but is very rewarding! I started flying just out of graduate school, so I have struggled with paying for my lessons, and as a result, I have to take many breaks, which means that getting licensed has taken many more hours than normal. I am a commercial and multi IFR rated licensed pilot. I completed my PPL and CPL in Calgary-Springbank and multi IFR (group one) ratings in Abbotsford, BC at Chinook Helicopters. If you are learning to fly, interested in learning to fly or just interested in aviation, please join us. I trained as an economist before becoming a pilot and switching to aviation full time. I enjoy climbing, mountaineering, hiking, camping and backcountry skiing. It’s a great time to be in aviation. The industry is growing.

Leave a Reply