Authorities are investigating a landing mishap on the 2 p.m. Flight 588 from Toronto which saw a Boeing 737 WestJet plane veer off the runway at Trudeau Airport into the grass at around 3 p.m. Friday.
The plane was temporarily immobilized with its front wheel stuck in the grass about 15 metres from the runway on an adjacent field. Passengers dismbarked safely and without incident.
The rain-soaked runway appeared to make braking difficult for the pilot. “He tried to put the brakes on and then put his reverse engine things on," one passenger told CTV Montreal. "The end of the runway was coming up and he slid off the end of the runway."
Tracy Rowan said that she realized what was happening only after it was over. "Everyone was pretty silent. They just didn't know what was happening. Welooked out and there was mud all over the windows. I'm not looking at a runway, I'm looking at grass."
Paul Rowan, who is visiting for the Grand Prix race was unfazed. “A little off road riding,” he called it. “Nobody got hurt everyone in good spirits and happy that we could walk away.”
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has opened an investigation.
Thousands of tourists have been coming into Montreal in recent days for the Canadian Grand Prix, considered the biggest tourist event on the local calendar.
(Nick Vernucci)
