Christmas Eve Air Canada flight returns to Calgary after engine fails

An Air Canada flight that CALGARY departed from Calgary on Christmas Eve was forced to turn around and make an emergency landing after one of its engines failed.

AC223, which left Calgary at 5:40 p.m. en route to Vancouver, turned around mid-flight after an unexpected engine shutdown. It landed at YYC safely and passengers were rebooked on later flights.

Sanjay Salem of Portland, Oregon, who was on the flight, said passengers alerted the cabin crew to the problem when they saw what looked like fire in the leftside engine.

“There was a family sitting on the left side and the lady looked out the window and said, ‘The engine is on fire,’” Salem recalled. “A couple of ladies that were sitting around us looked really concerned. I think the guys, including me, were worried, too. We were just trying not to show it.”

Salem added the pilot came on the PA system a few minutes later to say the flight was headed back to Calgary. He said the remainder of the flight, including the landing, was smooth and uneventful.

Air Canada spokeswoman Isabelle Arthur, who confirmed the incident, said the engine was never on fire. However, when it shut down, passengers might have noticed a “flame-out” similar to a car engine backfire.

“We understand this might have been unsettling, however, our crews are fully trained to manage such situations,” Arthur said in an email. “The plane landed normally and taxied to the gate.”

Transport Canada is reviewing the incident.