Flight 624 departed from Toronto Pearson International Airport bound for Halifax Stanfield International Airport. It was carrying 133 passengers and five crew. The Airbus A320 operating the flight, registration C-FTJP, impacted the ground short of the threshold of runway 05, smashing through an ILS-LOC antenna array. This impact caused the landing gear to separate from the aircraft. The plane also impacted a power line, which cut power to the airport. The aircraft then climbed an embankment up to the runway level, skidded on its belly and stopped past the threshold. The Halifax airport was without electricity for about 90 minutes. The aircraft was extensively damaged, having lost all landing gear and its port engine. The wings and tailplane were also damaged. Both pilots, twenty-three passengers and a flight attendant were taken to hospital. None of the injuries were life-threatening, and all but one of those taken to hospital were released the same day. The weather at the time of the accident was described as "stormy". The loss of power to the airport was due to the aircraft clipping transmission lines before hitting the ground. Electricity was restored to the airport by 02:12 ADT. While the aircraft collided with objects outside the airport perimeter and was damaged beyond repair, Air Canada initially described the accident as a "hard landing".
Aircraft
The aircraft was an Airbus A320-211 equipped with two CFM56-5A1 engines. Its serial number was 233 with a fleet number of 214, and it first flew in 1991. It was owned by GECAS and leased to Air Canada. As a result of the accident, the aircraft was written off.
Investigation
The accident was investigated by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. The TSB stated that there were no mechanical or maintenance faults uncovered with the aircraft. Three Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile investigators from France and two technical advisers from Airbus travelled to Canada to participate in the investigation. The final report was released in May 2017, finding Air Canada crew procedures to be the primary cause of the accident. It found that according to the airlines standard operating procedures when crew selects Flight Path Angle Guidance Mode, and once the aircraft passes through the final approach fix, the pilots are no longer required to monitor the aircraft's altitude or make any adjustments to the flight path angle. This procedure was not in accordance with the flight crew operating manuals of Air Canada or Airbus. As per procedure, once the crew of flight 624 selected flight path angle guidance mode and passed through the final approach fix, they stopped monitoring their altitude and distance from the runway and stopped making adjustments to the flight path angle. Because of this, they failed to notice that the aircraft had descended below the vertical descent angle flight profile and had dropped below the minimum safe altitude. Limited visibility also hampered the crews ability to perceive the impending impact. After the accident, Air Canada revised its Standard Operating Procedures.
Litigation
A class action lawsuit was introduced against Air Canada, the Halifax Airport, NAV Canada, Transport Canada, Airbus and the aircraft's pilots which alleges that negligence on the part of the defendants caused the crash, inflicting physical and psychological harm onto the passengers. Other separate lawsuits are being assessed by medical professionals, with settlements based on the relative severity of each client's injuries. On 30 March 2017, Air Canada filed a lawsuit against Airbus, alleging that the manufacturer "failed to identify shortcomings of the Airbus A320", which included uncommanded descent below the pre-programmed glide path.
