Officials with St. John’s International Airport are confirming that debris was found on one of its key runways Saturday night.
But they’re stopping short of saying it’s related to the hard and fiery landing of a PAL Airlines plane in Halifax.
Air Canada Express Flight 2259, operated by PAL, took off from St. John’s early Saturday evening bound for Halifax.
The flight, carrying more than 70 passengers and crew, including two youth rugby teams, landed in Halifax about two hours later, but it was anything but smooth due to a suspected issue with the landing gear.
Video from inside the plane shows sparks and fire coming from the left wing as that side of the aircraft drags along the runway. The resulting smoke then reportedly began filling the plane as emergency crews responded and everyone was removed, some with minor injuries.
WATCH: Air Canada flight lands with broken landing gear at Halifax airport. Only minor injuries pic.twitter.com/k6dWYMlibR
— BNO News (@BNONews) December 29, 2024
It’s not clear what kind of debris was found on the runway in St. John’s, or whether it came from the PAL plane in question.
But in a statement today, a spokesperson for the airport cited its “thorough airfield Safety Management System” which monitors safety and regulatory compliance, noting inspections of the airfield are conducted numerous times every day.
“Following a regular inspection on Saturday evening, debris was discovered on Runway 34. Debris reporting and recovery procedures were immediately enacted, local Air Traffic Control and carriers were notified and the runway was closed.”
The statement said the Transportation Safety Board was also notified of the debris, adding “any potential connection related to the Halifax airport incident is under investigation.”
Meanwhile, members of two NL rugby teams remain shaken by the incident but will compete in the tournaments they flew to Nova Scotia for.
There were initial issues with retrieving luggage and other personal items, but they’ve since also received help from local organizers and other teams in preparation for their matches.