7.8 C
Niagara Falls
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Soft wet ground saving grace in NOTL plane crash

The soft wet ground was the “saving grace” Saturday after a plane lost power to one of its engines and crash landed 300 metres short of the runway at the Niagara District Airport, said airport chairman Terry Flynn.

The two-engine Cessna plane had been flying to Niagara-on-the-Lake from Kingston when it put out a distress call. 

Flynn said multiple Niagara emergency services responded to the call and were waiting at the airport when the plane approached.

The three passengers on board all walked away with no injuries.

“It came in a little low because they were short on engine power,” Flynn said.

“The saving grace for us was the fact that the ground was so soft and for them … They all walked away,” Flynn said.

Flynn said the plane will be at the airport for a few days because it’s currently too wet to set up a crane to remove it.

He said the plane is not infringing on the approach to the runway so the airport will be open Sunday.

“All I can say is I was so impressed by the response from NOTL Fire, EMS, police and the airport operational staff,” Flynn said.

“I wish I could say it was a routine call, but as emergency calls like that go, it went the way it should.”

The airport’s safety manager and operations manager have started a full investigation, but Flynn said the cause seems to be the engine failure.

The tail of the plane can be seen from Line 4 near Hwy. 55.

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