Plane tire blew in St. John's ahead of fiery December landing in Halifax

The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has provided more information about what went wrong with an Air Canada flight, operated by PAL airlines, upon arrival in Halifax from St. John's on Dec. 28. 

A left tire blew on the De Havilland DHC-8-402 aircraft as it departed St. John's International Airport, according to a news release from the agency on Thursday.

The TSB said tire fragments were found on the runway. Neither the debris or blown tire itself were noticed during the flight so the aircraft continued to its destination in Halifax. 

The problem was detected during touchdown on runway 23 at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (HIAA). 

"The blown tire imbalance produced a vibration that caused the left main landing gear stabilizer brace to become unlocked and allowed the left main landing gear to collapse," said the statement from TSB. 

"As the landing gear collapsed, the left propeller contacted the runway surface, resulting in a fire in the left engine."

The TSB said the crew activated the engine extinguisher system. The 73 passengers and four crew members on board were evacuated with no injuries reported. 

Proposed lawsuit

As the TSB investigation continues, several passengers contacted Halifax law firm Wagners, which continues to evaluate whether it will represent them in a proposed class action lawsuit. 

"It has been reported to Wagners that passengers were left on the tarmac for nearly an hour, with little to no protection from the elements, before being shuttled to a nearby airport hangar," said a statement released by the firm Wednesday.

Wagner said failures of the emergency response are consistent with those after the crash of Air Canada 624 in March 2015. The law firm is representing the 133 passengers from that flight in a certified class action which is slated to go to trial early next year. 

"It is disappointing, and should be concerning to anyone flying into our airport, that almost a decade on, the emergency response of HIAA to a runway incident doesn't seem to have improved," said lawyer Ray Wagner in the statement. 

"Whatever the challenges may be to getting to these poor folks, and taking them into a safe and comfortable environment, these are challenges that they need to address," he added.

In a statement to CBC News, an Air Canada spokesperson they were unable to comment.

"We are awaiting the final report of the TSB on this incident but, in the meantime, along with our regional partners, we are supporting their investigation."  

The Halifax International Airport Authority did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday.