The investigation into an airplane overshooting the runway at Region of Waterloo International Airport early last Friday morning is still ongoing, according to a spokesperson with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB).
Around 6:30 a.m. on November 25, a Boeing 737 operated by Flair Airlines overshot the primary runway by about 490 feet, the TSB said. There were 134 passengers and six crew members onboard. Both a team of investigators from TSB and emergency services from Waterloo Region responded to the Breslau location shortly after the incident.
Emergency services were able to evacuate the airplane, and damage the aircraft sustained was reported as minor, police said. Waterloo Region paramedics treated one person on scene for minor injuries.
“Flair Airlines F8 501 from Vancouver to Kitchener-Waterloo exited the runway at the end of its landing at the Region of Waterloo International Airport. Passengers deplaned the aircraft and were taken to the terminal by bus. The safety and well-being of our passengers and crew is our top priority,” a Flair Airlines spokesperson said.
Flair did not make anyone available for an interview and said via email that “the airline will not have any additional comment beyond this statement.”
The airplane remained on the 7,003-foot runway for several hours. All commercial flights were cancelled for the rest of the day and the airport did not return to normal operations until 3:30 a.m. the next day.
“All passengers and crew were removed from the aircraft and no injuries were reported. The aircraft has been recovered and the Transportation Safety Board continues to conduct an investigation,” read a Saturday morning statement from the region.
“There was very minor damage to the aircraft but the landing gear did not collapse,” said TSB spokesperson Liam MacDonald. However, as the investigation is ongoing, he was unable to provide further information.
“Depending on how we classify the occurrence, we will be able to disclose more information but at this time we don’t have any findings to be shared,” MacDonald added.
