WestJet aircraft slides off runway at Halifax Stanfield Airport

A WestJet aircraft arriving from Toronto slid off the runway on Sunday, according to Halifax Stanfield Airport.

The airport tweeted at 11:52 a.m. that WestJet flight 248 “is currently disabled” and that they’re in the process of transporting passengers from the plane to the terminal building.

“It was windy when we were approaching the runway, we were rocking and rolling a little bit sideways, back and forth and then we hit the runway,” said Eric Waynne, one of the aircraft passengers.

“I think between the snow and the wind and maybe the speed, we just slid off the runway and the pilot was doing a good job,” he added.

As of 12:45 p.m., Waynne said that he and the other passengers had been waiting for more than 20 minutes on the aircraft for transit buses to pick them up.

“Everyone is calm,” he said, adding that the pilot has been providing them with updates.

Waynne said he saw firefighters walking around the airplane, “probably assessing if there’s any damage.”

There were no injuries to the 172 guests and seven crew members, stated WestJet in a tweet at 2:06 p.m.

WestJet said they’re ensuring that any guests who require a hotel, meal or re-accommodation will be provided for as soon as possible.

As of 3:08, all guests and crew have safely deplaned the aircraft, according to WestJet. 

Due to the incident, WestJet also stated that they have canceled the following flights: 3426 Halifax to St. John’s, 3429 St John’s to Halifax and 247 Halifax to Toronto. 

In addition, the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) is deploying a team of investigators to the airport following the incident.

The TSB said in a press release that they will gather information and assess the occurrence.

Winter storm warnings have remained in effect for much of eastern Nova Scotia and eastern Newfoundland as a slow-moving snowstorm moved into the region.

There has also seen a growing list of delayed and cancelled flights at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport and the St. John’s International Airport.

—With files from The Canadian Press

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