A n Airbus A320-211 aircraft which operated as Air Canada flight 624 and originated in Toronto was on its final approach to its destination at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Nova Scotia when it prematurely landed approximately 335 meters short of the runway early this morning, resulting in an accident which the aircraft suffered significant damage after smashing through an antenna array and skidded on its underside before finally coming to rest.
None of the 133 passengers and five members of the flight crew were killed in the accident; but at least 23 people who suffered from injuries were reportedly taken to hospitals. With the exception of one person, all have already been discharged.
All of the landing gear had collapsed upon initial impact with the ground prior to when the aircraft collided with the antenna system. The nose and the engine on the left side had become detached from the airplane; and a wing was severely damaged. The horizontal stabilizer was also reportedly damaged.
Additionally, a power line adjacent to the airport was severed, which caused the airport to temporarily lose power for greater than an hour.
Mike Cunningham — who is a regional air investigation coordinator with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada — said during an evening press briefing within the past few hours that the cockpit voice recorder and data recorder have been recovered and sent to Ottawa so preliminary analysis can begin as soon as possible, according to this article by multiple reporters of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation News.
The cause of the crash has not yet been determined; but inclement weather was ruled out as a contributing factor to this incident. The investigation — which is currently underway — is reportedly being conducted by as many as 15 personnel of the Transportation Safety Board.
Click here for photographs of the aircraft in question — both at nighttime shortly after the incident; as well as during daylight hours.
Members of both Milepoint and FlyerTalk are currently discussing this incident at the time this article was posted.
