An Air Canada flight from Toronto to Halifax left the runway as it landed at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport early Sunday morning, sending 25 people to hospital with injuries that are not considered life-threatening.
Flight AC624 "took a very hard landing and skidded off the runway" at approximately 12:35 a.m. AT said Peter Spurway, a spokesman for the Halifax Stanfield International Airport.
"Right now, we have some minor injuries. Nothing that is deemed to be life-threatening," he said.
There were 132 passengers and five crew members on board. Officials originally said only 16 people were injured in the incident.
Spurway said the incident was not a crash because it is believed the plane was under control as it came in. He said there's no indication what caused the hard landing and he did not know the condition of the plane.
The airport is closed and will remain closed until at least 9 a.m. AT, said Spurway, adding that the plane will need to be removed from the airfield before flights can resume.
Electricity was out at the airport at the time of the incident, and remained off for at least an hour after. Nova Scotia Power, the local utility, tweeted at 2:12 a.m. AT that power had been restored.
"We're not sure if the two incidents are related," said Spurway. Federal investigators have been called, he said.
Passenger Randy Hall said the plane was circling the airport for at least 30 minutes waiting for a good time to land. As the plane was coming down, there was "a big flash," he said.
It has been suggested but not confirmed that the plane might have struck a power line or pole.
Passenger Denis Lavoie said he saw sparks coming from the plane and that it bounced twice upon landing.
When the plane landed, the passengers left via the emergency exits.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...nway-in-halifax-25-sent-to-hospital-1.3013979