Debris found at St. John’s airport after plane takes off, catches fire on N.S. runway

HALIFAX — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says it is investigating whether debris found on the runway of an airport in St. John’s is connected to the plane that caught fire over the weekend after it landed on a Halifax runway.

An Air Canada Express flight operated by the regional carrier PAL Airlines, arriving from St. John’s, N.L., experienced a rough landing at approximately 9:30 p.m. Saturday night at Halifax Stanfield International Airport.

A report by VOCM news organization said officials at St. John’s International Airport noticed the debris on a runway Saturday night and closed the airstrip.

On Monday, Hugo Fontaine with the safety board said the agency “has been made aware of the debris found at St John’s International Airport and we’ll be examining it as part of our investigation. But we’re not going to speculate to confirm whether or not it’s related to the aircraft in question.”

A request for comment with the St. John’s airport was not immediately returned on Monday.

Meanwhile, the plane that caught fire upon landing in Halifax was removed Sunday night, and the runway reopened to air traffic Monday morning.

A passenger on the De Havilland DHC-8-402 aircraft described feeling a “massive rumble” upon touching down on Saturday and said sparks and flames were shooting out from under the wing of the plane.

The safety board’s investigation is ongoing, and will include a technical examination that focuses on the aircraft’s left-side landing gear, Fontaine said. The investigation will also evaluate factors like the operation of the plane, meteorological conditions, maintenance history and others.

Nikki Valentine, a passenger on the flight, said she was shaken by the experience. “The cabin tilted, we saw sparks and then flames and then smoke started getting sucked into the cabin,” she told The Canadian Press in a direct message over social media Sunday.

Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick said late Saturday that the plane experienced a “suspected landing gear issue” after arrival and was unable to reach the terminal. Fitzpatrick said the crew and 73 passengers were off-loaded by bus and nobody on board was injured.

The incident temporarily halted flights at the airport.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 30, 2024.

Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press