Skidding jet in Halifax one of seven since 1999

HALIFAX — Three investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are trying to determine why a passenger jet skidded off the end of a runway at the Halifax International Airport over the weekend — the third such incident in the past two years.

WestJet Flight 248 landed in the midst of a snowstorm just after noon on Sunday and overshot the runway with 172 passengers and seven crew members aboard.

There were no injuries and it remains unclear whether the Boeing 737 was damaged when it came to a stop on a grassy area 50 metres beyond the runway.

“There was preliminary information that there was no apparent damage to the aircraft,” board spokesman Chris Krepski said Monday. “The maintenance organization for WestJet will take a closer look at the aircraft.”

Including the overrun on Sunday, there have been seven socalled “runway excursions” or aircraft overruns at the Halifax airport since 1999, according to a database compiled by the board.

Krepski said the board has three main options as it moves forward with its investigation of what happened on Sunday: It could conduct a comprehensive investigation and submit a full report with recommendations; it could also submit a shorter report based on a limited probe; or it could simply add basic details to its database if investigators determine there would be nothing to contribute to transportation safety.

“Right now, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada continues to gather information and we’ll assess that information to determine what the scope of an investigation might be,” Krepski said.

Runway 14 was reopened Sunday around 10 p.m. after the jet was towed away.

Of the seven runway mishaps reported since 1999, only one resulted in fatalities or serious injuries. On Oct. 14, 2004, an MK Airlines Ltd. Boeing 747 cargo jet crashed and burned after it overshot Runway 24 and failed to gain enough altitude on takeoff.

All seven crew members were killed.

An investigation determined a crew member failed to press the correct icon on a computer screen, which caused the plane to attempt an underpowered takeoff.