A potentially catastrophic incident was narrowly avoided on Saturday night, December 28, when an Air Canada flight from St. John’s made an emergency landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport. The aircraft’s wing scraped the runway, resulting in a fire, but fortunately, no injuries were reported.

The incident occurred around 9:30 p.m. Atlantic Time, as Flight 2259, operated by PAL Airlines, was approaching the airport. Passengers aboard the flight described the plane suddenly tilting and hearing a loud, crash-like noise as it touched down. One passenger, Nikki Valentine, recounted that the aircraft appeared to have a malfunction with one of its tires, which failed to deploy properly during the landing process.

“As the plane tilted to one side, we heard a loud noise—almost like a crash—before the wing skidded along the runway. It seemed like the engine was involved too,” Valentine told CBC News. She noted that the aircraft continued to slide down the runway as the pilots worked to bring the plane to a halt.

“The plane was shaking, and soon we could see flames on the left side, with smoke beginning to enter through the windows,” she added, describing the tense moments before the emergency response was activated.

Despite the terrifying situation, the 80-passenger plane was quickly brought to a stop. Airport officials confirmed that all passengers were swiftly evacuated from the aircraft. They were then relocated to a nearby hangar where medical personnel conducted safety checks. The fire was contained, and the incident did not result in any fatalities or serious injuries.

The flight, which was operating near full capacity, was part of Air Canada’s regional service. An investigation into the cause of the incident is underway.

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