Air Canada Flight 624 wreckage removed from Halifax runway
Most of wreckage to be stored in a hangar while investigation continues
The wreckage of an Air Canada plane that crashed near Halifax Stanfield International Airport last weekend while landing in a snowstorm has been removed from the runway.
Earlier Wednesday morning, the wreckage and much of the debris were no longer visible. Only two portable light towers remained on the runway.
The Transportation Safety Board gave the airline the green light to start moving the wreckage of Flight 624 from a runway at Halifax Stanfield International Airport, two days after the crash.
On Tuesday afternoon, the safety board tweeted it had finished its site examination of the plane, so it could be moved. The TSB said it would maintain custody of the wreckage.
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The TSB had also said several cranes would be required to move the wreckage, and the bulk of it would be stored in a hangar.
The TSB, which is still investigating Sunday's crash, says its next steps will include interviewing passengers, gathering weather information and determining which parts of the wreckage will be collected for further examination at the TSB lab in Ottawa.
No exact word on runway repairs
It could take anywhere from two to seven weeks before flights are given the go-ahead to land on runway 05/23.
Joyce Carter, chief executive of the Halifax International Airport Authority, said work is underway to get it operational.
The airport can inspect the runway for damage and repair it if required, setting it up to handle flights in good weather within a few days.
"However, it will likely take a minimum of at least a month before the navigational aids, damaged during the incident, can be replaced by Nav Canada," she said late Monday. "This means that unfavourable weather conditions — wind, poor visibility, etc.— could affect airline flight schedules."
After crashing, the Airbus A320, which had left Toronto en route to Halifax, slid 335 metres along the runway. There were 133 passengers and five crew members on board. Twenty-three people were taken to hospital, none with critical injuries.