The Nova Scotia class action lawyers at Wagners are investigating the circumstances which led to a plane crash at the Halifax airport in the early morning hours of Sunday, March 29, 2015.
The Air Canada plane, Flight 624, departed from Toronto just before 9 p.m. Saturday evening. It landed hard in winter conditions and skidded off a runway early Sunday morning. There were 133 passengers and five crew members aboard at the time. Thankfully everyone survived but at least 25 injured passengers were taken to hospital for treatment.
This aviation accident raises important questions for the passengers affected, and their families. Conditions were snowy at the time, however Air Canada states that it does not know what caused the Airbus A320 to crash at Halifax Stanfield International Airport. Passengers on board the flight say the plane hit a power line and electricity to the airport was down for more than hour.
A spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said two investigators were scheduled to arrive at the airport early Sunday to assess whether an investigation will be done by the agency. Peter Spurway said that the plane was flying in a southerly direction when it landed on the airport’s main runway, adding that it is up to pilots to decide whether it is safe to land in bad weather based on information relayed from ground crews to the tower.
On behalf of injured passengers, the lawyers at Wagners will be keeping a close eye on developments. Was it weather and poor visibility that caused the plane to hit a power line? Was it human error? Poor communication between air traffic control and the pilots? Mechanical or technological issues? The answers to these important questions will likely follow in the days to come.
The lawyers at Wagners have represented victims of aviation accidents in Canada and internationally. They have represented the victims, and their families, of the 2004 crash of MK airlines at the same airport in Halifax. That plane lifted off from Halifax, but struck the ground shortly beyond the runway. Following lift-off the tail of the jet bounced twice off the tarmac near the end of the runway and separated from the plane when it hit a mound of earth 300 metres beyond the end of the runway. The plane then headed forwards in a straight line and ultimately broke into pieces.
An investigation into the crash revealed that the flight crew had used the incorrect speeds and thrust setting during the take-off attempt, with incorrect take-off data being calculated when preparing the flight (incorrect V speed calculation, as the result of the crew re-using a lighter take-off weight of 240,000 kg from the aircraft’s previous take-off at Bradley, instead of the correct weight of 353,000 kg). The official report blamed the company for serious non-conformances to flight and duty time, with no regulations or company rules governing maximum duty periods for loadmasters and ground engineers, resulting in increased potential for fatigue-induced errors.
We believe that the civil justice system plays an important role in advocating for improvements in aviation safety. Passengers often want to make sure that the lessons learned by an airline after an accident are used to improve aviation safety and prevent future accidents. In that manner, Wagners consider class action lawsuits to be a powerful instrument for change.
If you or a loved one was a passenger on the Air Canada flight AC624 that crashed early Sunday morning in Halifax, contact one of the lawyers at Wagners today to discuss your options. 1-800-465-8794, 902-425-7330, [email protected]