Backhoe rips into mangled plane after runway overrun in Halifax
HALIFAX — Crews have begun tearing into the mangled Boeing 747 cargo jet that overshot a Halifax runway last week, as gawkers marvelled at the huge wreck — and how close the plane came to breaching the airport’s fence and overrunning a public road.
Dozens of people watched late Sunday afternoon as a backhoe dug into the midsection of the fuselage, which buckled when the empty SkyLease Cargo plane overshot the runway at Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Wednesday.
The four crew members suffered minor injuries and the plane was badly damaged when it slid 210 metres off the end of Runway 14 on Wednesday. Federal investigators said it touched down in rainy conditions while being buffeted by a crosswind with a potential tailwind.
Flight KKE 4854, which had arrived from Chicago just after 5 a.m. Wednesday after a two-anda-half hour flight, was to be loaded with live lobster destined for China.
As it skidded down a slight, grassy embankment, the plane hit a large localizer antenna, its landing gear collapsed, two of its four engines were torn off and there was a small fire under the tail section — caused by one of the severed engines.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said that it had released the site, and planned to examine recovered components at its Ottawa lab.
Investigators plan to download and analyze data from the cockpit voice and flight data recorders, the TSB said.