By Skies Magazine | November 7, 2018 Estimated reading time 2 minutes, 42 seconds.
Halifax Stanfield International Airport suspended all flights in the early morning of Nov. 7, 2018, after a Boeing 747-400 Sky Lease cargo aircraft skidded off the end of a runway shortly after 5 a.m.
Four crewmembers were taken to hospital with minor injuries and the aircraft suffered significant damage, with two of its engines sheared off completely.
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada attended the scene, along with local emergency workers.
It was not immediately clear what caused the incident, but an airport spokesperson said the aircraft was arriving from Chicago in rainy conditions, according to the Canadian Press.
The aircraft was scheduled to be loaded with live lobster destined for China, said spokesperson Theresa Rath Spicer.
“It did land and then overshot the runway,” she said, according to CP.
Gateway Aviation picked up the lobster slated for the Sky Lease flight, said Rath Spicer, according to the CBC.
The aircraft came to a stop less than 50 metres from a fence separating the airfield from a public two-lane road, the CBC reported.
A stretch of the road was closed the public around 9 a.m. local time and reopened by 4 p.m. Halifax Stanfield’s main runway was reopened shortly after 8 a.m., but flight delays continued well into the afternoon.
This was the third serious incident at Halifax Stanfield in 15 years, but Rath Spicer defended the airport’s safety record.
“Obviously, safety is our number 1 priority,” she said, per the Canadian Press.
“We are now focused on resuming our operation, ensuring the safety of our passengers and working with the officials to determine how we can assist with the investigation.”
