Air Canada flight catches fire on landing, all passengers evacuated safely

Ottawa, PTI: An Air Canada flight coming from St John's city on Newfoundland Island had a rough landing at the Halifax airport in Goffs in Nova Scotia province that saw the aircraft skid down the runway and part of it catching fire. A statement issued by the airport said the incident involved Air Canada Flight 2259, which was operated by PAL Airlines, CBC News reported. The incident happened around 9:30 pm local time.

The statement does not say how many people were on the plane. The people on board were evacuated, and then taken to a hangar to be checked out by paramedics, CBC News said. Due to the incident, the Halifax airport was temporarily closed Saturday night. A passenger told CBC News that one of the plane's tyres did not deploy properly upon landing. “The plane started to sit at about a 20-degree angle to the left and, as that happened," he said.