Transportation Safety Board Canada is investigating an incident involving a plane at Halifax Stanfield International Airport that one passenger described as a rough landing that caused flames.
Nikki Valentine, who was on the PAL Airlines flight, said passengers heard a “loud hum” when boarding on Saturday night.
“The cabin pitched up, we saw sparks, then flames, and then smoke that started being sucked into the cabin,” Valentine said Sunday.
Airport spokeswoman Tiffany Chase said the PAL Airlines Air Canada Express flight, which was arriving from St. John's, Newfoundland, encountered an incident upon landing at approximately 9:30 p.m.
Air Canada Spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said the Bombardier Q400 aircraft had a “suspected landing gear problem” on arrival and was unable to reach the terminal.
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Fitzpatrick said the crew and 73 passengers were ejected from the bus and no one on board was injured.
Valentina said that she was “especially grateful that the pilot was able to understand the situation very quickly.”
The incident temporarily stopped flight operations at the airport.
As of Sunday afternoon, Valentin and the other passengers were still without the bags they were told to leave on the plane. Valentina said she contacted Air Canada, who told her it could be up to three more days before their bags are returned while the incident is being investigated.
“A lot of people have things like house keys or wallets that they need but haven't been able to get,” she said.
“It's all due process and I'd rather be inconvenienced (by not having bags) than if something bad happened, of course, but it's still difficult.”