Region of Waterloo airport closed to commercial flights today after Flair plane overruns runway

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is investigating after a plane that had left Vancouver with 140 people aboard overran the runway at the Region of Waterloo International Airport on Friday.

The Boeing 737, which is owned and operated by Flair Airlines, was heading to Kitchener-Waterloo when upon landing, at about 6:25 a.m. ET, it overran runway 26, said the TSB.

Photos and video taken at the scene show the plane resting in a field. 

The skies were foggy on the final approach, passenger Farai Muzofa told CBC News. He said he heard the usual sounds of landing gear lowering and the landing felt normal at first, but then took a turn. 

"The difference this time around was as soon as the plane landed and we could feel the brakes immediately go on, it didn't really stop the plane's momentum — it kind of kept going," he said. "It started swerving."  

Muzofa said that beyond reminding passengers to stay in their seats, there was little communication from the pilot or flight attendants.

"Everybody was kind of freaked out; we didn't know what was going on."

No injuries: TSB

Muzofa said he understands there may be rules or protocols that limited their ability to communicate with passengers, but feels there has to be a middle ground.

"Say something. Maybe ask people: 'Are you OK back there?'"

Emergency services did check on passengers and crew.  A total of 134 passengers and six crew were on board and while there is visible damage to one wing, no one was injured, says the TSB.

"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 in an email. 

The TSB closed runway 26, to carry out its investigation, but a spokesperson for the Region of Waterloo told CBC News that the airport will be closed to commercial traffic for the rest of Friday. 

The following departures have been cancelled:

• Flair 801 to Edmonton, which was scheduled to depart at 9 a.m.
• Flair 881 to Montreal, which was scheduled to depart at 3:35 p.m.
• WestJet 557 to Calgary, which was scheduled to depart at 4 p.m.
• Flair 500 to Vancouver, which was scheduled to depart at 6:50 p.m.

The following arrivals have been cancelled:

• WestJet 544 from Calgary, which was scheduled to arrive at 3:06 p.m.
• Flair 814 from Calgary, which was scheduled to arrive at 4:40 p.m.
• Flair 802 from Edmonton, which was scheduled to arrive at 5:40 p.m.

Flair has also cancelled its early-morning flight out of Vancouver on Saturday.