Airport operations were disrupted for two hours at the Saint John Airport on Tuesday after a small plane flipped on the runway. Emergency crews responded – disrupting flights scheduled to land at the airport.
Attempting to take off, the plane flipped shortly after 10 a.m., with its pilot being the sole occupant.
"The plane was a single-prop private aircraft that ended up on its roof,” said Saint John Fire platoon chief, Michael Carr. “The Saint John Airport fire staff removed the pilot, who has undetermined injuries but was transported with Ambulance New Brunswick to the Saint John Regional Hospital."
The accident resulted in inconveniences, as some incoming and outgoing flights had to be diverted.
"We had a couple of inbound flights this morning that were diverted,” said Saint John Airport administrative manager, Greg Hierlihy. “One to Fredericton I believe and one rerouted back to Toronto –so we had two impacted."
The incident affected dozens of passengers waiting to board flights to Montreal and Toronto.
"They made an announcement saying actually the flight was delayed,” said passenger, Steve Chouinard. “It was going to go to Fredericton and refuel and come back if it was OK to land because there was an obstruction on the runway. Then 20 minutes later, they said the Toronto flight was cancelled too."
By afternoon, airport crews towed the plane and cleared the runway. However, it remains unclear what caused the pilot to lose control of the aircraft.
Saint John Airport has notified the Transportation Safety Board, which will investigate the incident.
