Authorities at Halifax’s Stanfield International Airport reported early Sunday morning that about 20 people were injured when an Air Canada Airbus A320 landed hard and skidded off a snowy runway just after midnight. The injuries weren’t believed to be life-threatening. The flight had departed from Toronto with 133 passengers and five crew aboard, authorities said early Sunday morning.
Peter Spurway, a spokesman for the airport, reported that the aircraft “took a very hard landing and skidded off the runway,” CBC News reported. At the time of the accident, heavy snow was reported, but the condition of the runway isn’t known. The flight may have struck power lines on the approach as power was briefly cut to the airport and terminal, but was restored during the rescue effort.
“Right now, we have some minor injuries. Nothing that is deemed to be life-threatening,” Spurway told CBC. For the time being, authorities aren’t considering the accident a crash because airplane was believed to be under control until it contacted the runway. There’s no indication yet of whether the airplane simply skidded off a snowy runway or if the crew touched down too hard or too fast. Avweb will update the story as more information becomes available.
