An Air Canada plane caught fire during a crash landing in Nova Scotia on Saturday night.
Videos shared on social media showed passengers aboard the plane as it skidded down a runway at Halifax Stanfield International Airport while a wing was on fire.
Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick told The Globe and Mail that there was a "suspected landing gear issue" when the flight arrived in Halifax on Saturday night.
He said the crew and 73 passengers were safely transported off the aircraft and no one was injured. The Nova Scotia Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) told the newspaper that minor injuries were reported.
Newsweek has contacted Air Canada and the Nova Scotia RCMP for further comment via email.
Why It Matters
The incident occurred not long after a passenger plane carrying 181 people burst into flames after skidding off a runway at Muan International Airport in South Korea.
Officials said 179 people were killed, while two crew members were rescued, in one of the country's worst aviation disasters.
The official cause of the crash is yet to be determined, but officials said the Boeing 737-800 jet's front landing gear had apparently failed to deploy.
What To Know
The Halifax airport was briefly closed on Saturday night following the incident.
Air Canada Express Flight 2259, operated by PAL Airlines, experienced "aircraft incident upon arrival" in Halifax from St. John's, a city in Newfoundland, the airport said in a statement posted on social media on Saturday night.
"All passengers and crew onboard have since been deplaned and have been transported off the airfield. Our airfield was closed briefly this evening, but one of our runways has now been cleared to resume regular operations."
What People Are Saying
Nikki Valentine, a passenger on the plane, told CBC News: "The plane started to sit at about a 20-degree angle to the left and, as that happened, we heard a pretty loud—what almost sounded like a crash sound—as the wing of the plane started to skid along the pavement, along with what I presume was the engine.
"The plane shook quite a bit and we started seeing fire on the left side of the plane and smoke started coming in the windows."
Valentine said once the aircraft came to a stop, it took about two minutes to get everyone to disembark.
"One side of the entire plane was on fire, so everyone was pretty much in a hurry to get off—but an organized hurry," she said.
What's Next
Authorities will investigate to determine the cause of the incident.
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