Federal investigators say approach procedures, poor visibility and lighting led to the 2015 crash landing of an Air Canada jet that skidded along a Halifax runway and injured 25 people on board.
The Transportation Safety Board report released today says the crew aboard Flight 624 had set the autopilot at the correct angle of descent during a blizzard on March 29, 2015, but the crew did not notice wind had pushed the plane off its flight path.
READ MORE: Timeline: A look at the Air Canada Flight 624 incident as report set to be released
The report says Air Canada procedures did not require the flight crew to monitor the aircraft’s altitude and distance to the runway at Halifax Stanfield International Airport.
It says the flight crew requested that runway lights be adjusted to their maximum setting, but the tower controller was preoccupied with snowplows on the runway and nearby aircraft on the taxiway.
The report says the pilots only realized the aircraft was too low and too far back after they disengaged from the autopilot in the last few seconds of the flight.
READ MORE: Air Canada flight 624: plane was airborne again after initial impact at Halifax airport
The report says they initiated a go-around immediately, but the aircraft struck terrain short of the runway.
The plane bounced into the air and crashed near the runway threshold before careening along the tarmac.
An engine and the plane’s landing gear were ripped from the airframe amid a shower of sparks and leaking fuel.
Air Canada issued their response to the report this morning. They say the company has already implement many of the recommendations found in the TSB report.
The Air Canada Pilots Association, who represent more than 3,500 pilots of Air Canada, said they thanked the TSB for “their important work on this report and in advancing safety for Canadians.”
Ongoing Lawsuit
The Halifax Stanfield airport is reviewing the report but will not comment on its findings due to an ongoing class action lawsuit.
Denis Lavoie, who live in Bedford, N.S., was a passenger on the plane during the crash.
“I find it very polite. It doesn’t blame anybody,” he said regarding the report.
WATCH: With the release of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada’s report into the 2015 crash in Halifax involving one of Air Canada’s planes, Global’s Steve Silva has reaction from people involved in a lawsuit against the airline.
Lavoie is part of a class action lawsuit against Air Canada because of the crash. He learned about a month after the crash that he had broken his shoulder and neck. He still feels pain because of the incident.
“Once the adrenaline comes down, wears off, you start to feel the pain,” said Lavoie.
Ray Wagner, the lawyer who’s heading the class action, said the aim is to resolve the matter by next year.
— With files from Alexander Quon and Steve Silva, Global News
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