PAL Airlines says a wheel failure was behind an emergency response at St. John’s International Airport yesterday afternoon. It was the second such incident involving the same aircraft in as many weeks.

Emergency crews were on the ready as flight 411 from Goose Bay and bound for Deer Lake diverted to St. John’s. The flight landed safely and without incident.

PAL says the aircraft involved in yesterday’s incident (C-GPIX) is the same one that experienced a wheel failure on October 30.

The airline says it completed “extensive maintenance procedures on the aircraft” following the first incident – consistent with the manufacturer’s guidance.

PAL is removing the affected aircraft from service to complete a “comprehensive inspection” to determine the root cause of the two incidents.

Out of an abundance of caution, PAL Airlines has begun the process of completing wheel assembly inspections on the rest of its Dash 8-400 aircraft to ensure the integrity of the fleet.

The airline says it is in active communication with Transport Canada and De Havilland to thoroughly review the cause of the problem.