Lawsuit filed after plane crash to go ahead

A class action lawsuit filed by a New Glasgow law firm after the 2015 crash of Air Canada flight 624 is going ahead.

Jamie MacGillivray, whose firm MacGillivray Injury and Insurance Law, filed the suit in April 2015, said the pilots, air traffic controllers, and others are going to be examined throughout the year and trial dates will be set.

A Transportation Safety Board report released this week about the March 29, 2015 crash found that approach procedures, poor visibility due to a snowstorm and airfield lighting led to the collision at the Halifax/Stanfield International Airport.

Five crew members and 133 passengers were on board the flight travelling from Toronto to Halifax when the aircraft severed power lines and then struck the snow-covered ground approximately 740 feet before the runway. The report’s finding said the aircraft struck the ground twice more before sliding along the runway and coming to rest about 1,900 feet beyond the runway threshold.

Twenty-five people sustained injuries and were taken to hospital, and the aircraft was destroyed.

MacGillivray said the TSB report cannot be used as evidence for the case, but it gives a better understanding of what happened, before the defendants are questioned.

“Our hope is that Air Canada and the others will benefit from the TSB report and this case so as to make things safer. One objective of civil actions is to change and influence the behaviour of corporations to improve safety. Without a financial motivation to change, it is more likely that safety will be compromised.”

MacGillivray Injury and Insurance Law has been retained by 20 passengers.

The investigation found that the flight crew had set the autopilot to fly the appropriate flight path angle as it descended. Because company procedures didn’t require the flight crew to monitor the aircraft’s altitude and distance to the runway, the crew didn’t notice that wind variations had caused the aircraft’s flight path to change.

Although requested by the flight crew during the approach, the runway lights also were not adjusted to their maximum setting.

The pilots realized too late, after disengaging the autopilot to land manually, that the aircraft was too low and too far back.

Following the incident, Air Canada and the Halifax International Airport Authority took safety actions to address the deficiencies identified through the investigation.