The airline said Flight AC624, an Airbus 320 that left Toronto late Saturday, had 133 passengers and five crew members. Air Canada said the aircraft landed in
stormy conditions at 12:43 a.m. Sunday.
"They touched down 1,100 feet (330 meters) short of the runway so I'd say they're pretty lucky," Mike Cunningham, a regional manager for Canada's
Transport Safety Board, 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. He also said he believes a
power line was severed, which led to a loss of power at the airport.
Air Canada Chief Operating Officer Klaus Goersch said 25 people were taken to local hospitals and all but one of them were released.
"All of us at Air Canada are greatly relieved that there have been no critical injuries as a result of this incident," Goersch said.
The Transportation Safety Board provided pictures that showed significant damage to the plane with the nose torn off and an engine crumpled under a
damaged wing.
"This was not a hard landing. This was an actual crash," said Mike Magnus, a 60-year-old businessman who was sitting in the first row. "It was the closest
I've ever came to death. There is no doubt in my mind. Obviously that's some
political maneuvering."
Magnus added that the snow covering the runway likely extinguished any sparks that might have caused the plane to catch fire.
Power went off at the airport. Nova Scotia Power later tweeted that power had been restored. Cpl. Greg Church of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said a
power line south of the runway was damaged. Halifax Stanfield International
Airport spokesman Peter Spurway credited the crew and passengers for evacuating
the plane within a minute.
"We just kicked the doors out and jumped onto the wing and then ran because we just wanted to get away from the airplane in case of explosions or anything,"
said Dominic Stettler, a father of three.
Some passengers complained they were left standing on the tarmac, some in their stocking feet, for up to 50 minutes as they were lashed by wind-whipped
snow before buses arrived.
"People were just happy to be alive but after a while it got tiresome having to wait outside in the freezing cold. I only had a golf shirt on," Magnus said.
Spurway said the airport is reviewing its response.
The Halifax region was under a snowfall warning, with an Environment Canada alert saying, "Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow."
Goersch, Air Canada's chief operating officer, said the weather was appropriate
for landing.
"It was safe to fly in this weather. The aircraft did circle for a period of time but when the approach was initiated, the weather was at the approach
limits," Goersch told a news conference. "The weather was appropriate for
landing."
Randy Hall and his wife Lianne Clark were on their way home from a Mexican vacation when he said he believes the jet hit a power line before it landed hard
on the runway. There were sparks but no fire, he said.
"We were just coming in to land and there was a big flash," said Hall. "The plane came down, bang! It jumped up in the air again."
The aircraft skidded for a long time before coming to a stop, said Hall, who is retired. "We were sliding along on our belly. ... I was looking out and I saw
the landing gear go and I saw an engine go."
Flight tracking site Flightradar24 listed several cancelled flights at the airport Sunday morning.
BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping saidFriday that Mongolia is welcome to actively participate inconstruction of the Belt and Road.
China supports Mongolia's efforts to be a bridge linkingEuropean and Asian continents, Xi told Mongolian Prime MinisterJargaltulga Erdenebat, who is in
Beijing to attend the Belt andRoad Forum for International Cooperation scheduled
for May 14 to15.
The two countries should cooperate on areas including trade andinvestment, connectivity, agriculture and animal breeding,industrial capacity, and energy,
so that the Belt and RoadInitiative and Mongolia's Prairie Road development
initiative canbe effectively dovetailed, Xi said.
He called for efforts to promote the construction of theChina-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor to boost the commondevelopment of the three nations.
Xi said the Chinese side attaches great importance to thedevelopment of China-Mongolia ties. Both sides should uphold theprinciples of mutual trust,
cooperation and win-win outcome, andtake opportunities to broaden exchanges and
cooperation in variousfields and push forward their comprehensive
strategicpartnership.
He stressed that the developmental prospects for China-Mongoliaties are broad, adding that the two sides should care for eachother's core interests and
major concerns and deepen mutual trustto ensure that the development of
bilateral ties will not deviatefrom the right track.
The president called for facilitating the study of a free tradezone and cross-border economic cooperation, and promotingcooperation on major mineral
industry programs and infrastructureconnectivity.
Efforts should also be made to increase exchanges between youth,media and local authorities, Xi said.
Erdenebat said carrying out friendly cooperation with China is apriority for Mongolia. The country adheres to the one-China
. Cheap Jerseys From
China Cheap
Shirts Cheap
T-shirts Cheap
Hats Cheap Sports
Jerseys Wholesale
Soccer
Jerseys Wholesale
Adidas NHL
Hoodie Wholesale
Collge
Hats Wholesale
Basketball
Jerseys Wholesale
Baseball Hoodie
