Air Canada flight that crash landed hit antenna array before landing
The Air Canada plane that crash landed early Sunday struck an antenna array that knocked off the main landing gear as it attempted to touch down in the midst of a snow storm at the airport in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada's Transportation Safety Board said on Sunday.
The damage caused the Flight AC624, an Airbus 320 that left Toronto late Saturday, to skid about 335 meters, said Mike Cunningham, a regional manager for the Transport Safety Board.
"They touched down 1,100 feet (335 meters) short of the runway so I'd say they're pretty lucky," he told a news conference.
Cunningham said the plane hit an antenna array, shearing the main landing gear off before sliding on its belly onto the runway for another 1,100 feet before coming to a stop.
Cunningham said there was significant damage to the plane and could not rule out weather as a factor, although Air Canada stressed that the plane was safe to fly in the snowstorm.
Images posted by the Transportation Safety Board show the plane on its belly with heavy damage to its nose and an engine crumpled under a damaged wing.
