Labrador City Chief Joe Power got a unique call at 11:38 on April 24.
It was to assist with an emergency at the Wabush Airport.
Power told the Aurora to the best of his knowledge there was a problem with the landing gear with a Provincial Airlines flight from Montreal to Wabush. Power said they could see the gear was down, but couldn’t tell if it was locked into position.
For passenger Francois Pradella on flight 1902, it was a routine trip with stops in Quebec City and Sept -Iles but as the flight approached Wabush, there was an indication that there was a problem.
“We were told of an issue with the landing gear, more specifically the nose gear. For the most part people remained calm, but some passengers were a little concerned.”
Pradella said despite the calm, there were a couple of moments that brought him to the reality of the situation.
“When we did a fly past the airport, I assume so airport officials could look at the landing gear, I could see the emergency vehicles, fire trucks, rescue vehicles and ambulances. I knew this could be a serious situation, but I felt things were under control.”
“The next moment was just as we were about to land and we were told to brace for landing. It was a tense moment for many, but somehow I felt like things were under control and this was a necessary part of being prepared.”
Pradella told the Aurora after they landed there was a round of applause for the pilots and the crew.
For passenger Patrick Lauziere, circling the Wabush airport seemed like a long time. They were up there for more than an hour and a half.
“It seemed like the pilots were doing maneuvers to try a gently coach the gear down, at least that’s what it seemed like to me,” he said. “There was a lot of time circling. I think it is usually to burn fuel, and there were several low passes.”
Meanwhile, emergency plans were in place, the airport firefighters were ready, and Labrador City firefighters including volunteers were in place. Ambulances were on site.
Lauziere told the Aurora, “the crew instructed us on how to adopt the brace position, and we were told to use that if the captain called out brace ... I think that made a few people more uncomfortable. I think one person got a bit stomach sick but still people remained relatively calm considering the situation.”
For Pradella, it was his first time he was in a situation like this, but said people paid close attention to the crew in the event it was necessary to brace, or evacuate. For his part it was an experience but not traumatic, and he didn’t sense panic amongst other passengers. At one point they were told they may fly to Goose Bay .
Lauziere said the same thing but said he was sure some people were having a few private moments where there were concerns and some contemplation. On the ground airport personnel were busy, and airline workers kept a close eye on events. Calm and cool prevailed.
Eventually the crew prepared to land the Dash 8. As the aircraft approached runway, it seemed like there was a collective silent breath. The plane approached smoothly.
Lauziere said, “it seemed like the nose gear was held off touching down till it was the perfect moment in case the gear was compromised, at least that’s what it seemed like from my perspective as a passenger.”
The plane landed, the gear withstood the landing. As PAL employees and the many emergency personnel and airport workers watched, there was a joyous moment when they realized all was well and there was a collective sigh of relief.
Airport vehicles approached the aircraft, and eventually doors were open. The aircraft remained in the airport and passengers were transported to the terminal by airport vehicles. As they entered the terminal many of the passengers looked relieved, but outwardly there were no signs of major stress.
The incident did cause some disruptions with passenger traffic. Because the aircraft remained on the runway some flights were diverted, and others delayed for several hours.
At press time the Aurora was unable to reach a spokesperson for Provincial Airlines. We will continue to cover this story.
