23 People Sent to Hospital After Air Canada Plane Goes Off Runway

Update 10:15 a.m.: Air Canada says that all except one person admitted to hospital for the incident have been released.

"We at Air Canada are greatly relieved that no one was critically injured," said Klaus Goersch, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Air Canada. "Yet we fully appreciate this has been a very unsettling experience for our customers and their families, as well as our employees, and we are focused on caring for all those affected. We will also fully cooperate with the Transportation Safety Board as it begins an investigation to determine the cause."

The Airbus A320 suffered significant damage. (Photo Credit: Transportation Safety Board)

Original Story:

An Air Canada plane landed hard at the Halifax International Airport, sending 23 people to hospital.

Early Sunday morning, Air Canada flight AC624 “exited the runway” when it landed in Halifax from Toronto. The Airbus A320 was carrying 133 passengers and 5 crew members, and all safely deplaned after what the Halifax airport calls “an abrupt landing”. Air Canada confirmed that 23 passengers and crew suffered non-life-threatening injuries, and these people were transported to area hospitals for observation and treatment.

Since, 18 of the 23 have been released from hospital.

Side view of the damage from the Air Canada plane. (Photo Credit: Transportation Safety Board)

The airfield was closed for several hours at the airport, causing numerous flight delays with no arriving or departing flights. Power was also temporarily out at the airport. It is not yet known what caused the crash, but the airport was experiencing snow from a winter storm that night.

The Transportation Safety Board is on site investigating. Air Canada says they “will be cooperating fully with authorities in their investigation.”