N.L. passengers aboard weekend flight describe shocking, rough landing in Halifax

Some passengers say they're still shaken up after a PAL Airlines flight from St. John's had a rough landing in Halifax Saturday night.

"I felt kind of insanely shocked because I couldn't believe it was happening," said Jordan Kelly, who was travelling back to Montreal after visiting family in Marystown for the holidays. 

"The side of the airplane started dragging, and then sparks and fire started shooting out of the wing of the left-hand side of the plane."

Halifax airport spokesperson Tiffany Chase told CBC News the airport's emergency response team responded immediately and was able to safely stabilize the aircraft. She said all passengers and crew were safely deplaned and taken to a nearby hangar for medical assessment. 

The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) completed its review of Air Canada Flight 2259, which was operated by PAL, Sunday evening.

Kelly said passengers on board remained "surprisingly chill" as the plane skidded down the runway. 

"I was like, 'OK, well, we're on the ground, we're … slowing down, we're dragging a bit. It's not the worst,'" he said. 

He said passengers could see flames from inside the cabin, and that once the plane came to a stop, smoke started to billow inside. 

Kelly said passengers were composed and the crew did a good job helping everyone get off the plane. 

"Everyone was pretty good at staying calm and getting off," said Kelly. "The real Newfoundland optimism there."

Frustration 

As for what happened after passengers got off the plane, Kelly said the situation was "incredibly frustrating."

He said they spent 45 minutes waiting on the tarmac for a bus to transport them to the airport, in the cold and without their bags. There were children and babies, and some people didn't even have coats, he said. 

However, he said, firefighters responded very quickly and that police and an ambulance eventually came, too.

Passengers were seen by medics once they got to the airport.

Team spirits lifted 

On board the plane were two Newfoundland and Labrador rugby teams — one male and one female — travelling to an Atlantic competition in Halifax. 

For coach Morgan Lovell, the first concern was the safety of the players. 

"[We] just wanted to make sure that they were as calm and kind of controlled as they could be when we were getting off," Lovell told CBC News. "[We were] trying to get them off safely and then try and help other people get off as quickly as we can, like older people and people with young children."

Lovell said the airport's response to the situation was good.

"I thought they kept us informed, informed well of what we were doing, what the next kind of step was," he said, adding the ordeal was a big life experience for many of the players, who are aged 16 to 19 years old. 

"This would be the first time any of them have kind of seen anything like this."

On Sunday, the team had to scramble to buy new equipment in Halifax in order to be ready for Monday's tournament.

Lovell said Rugby teams from the other Atlantic provinces offered to bring new jerseys and other items. 

"It's pretty cool to see people from the rugby community kind of helping each other out in this situation," He said.

As for the team's nerves, Lovell says they're ready to play on Monday despite the experience.

"This is an experience which has brought them together, which will obviously promote teamwork and team spirit," he said.

"Obviously [there] could have been a much nastier outcome. So I think the overriding emotion coming out of it was that we were happy that we were out of the situation and we got through it."

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