The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is investigating the SkyLease Boeing 747-400 Freighter that skidded off the runway on 7 November at Halifax Stanfield International Airport revealing extensive damage.
The freighter was arriving from Chicago, Illinois, at 05.05h and had landed on Runway 14 when it went off the landing strip and it was carrying four crew members who were treated for minor injuries.
The TSB said the B747F came to rest approximately 695 feet, or 210 metres, off the end of the runway and the aircraft struck a localiser antenna during the overrun.
The TSB also said its landing gear collapsed, two engines separated from the aircraft, and the remaining engines were substantially damaged.
A small post-impact fire originated from the detached number two engine which was lodged under the tail of the aircraft.
The investigation team has conducted the following information-gathering work – that the flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder, along with other systems aboard the aircraft that contain flight data are being recovered. These will be sent to the TSB’s Engineering Laboratory in Ottawa for analysis.
An initial examination of the accident site has been conducted.
A thorough examination of Runway 14/32 has been conducted and the investigation team is in contact with the Skylease, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the manufacturers Boeing and Pratt & Whitney, the Halifax Airport Authority, NAV CANADA and Transport Canada.
TSB has appointed a Minister’s Observer who will obtain factual information and advise the department of any significant regulatory factors.
In the coming days and weeks, investigators download and analyse the data from the aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder and conduct interviews with witnesses, air traffic control, and airport personnel and others who may provide additional information useful to the investigation.
The TSB will also thoroughly review audio and radar data from NAV CANADA and gather and analyse all available information about the weather and runway surface conditions at the time of the occurrence.
It will also examine aircraft systems, review the aircraft maintenance records, pilot training, qualifications and proficiency records and review policies, operational procedures and regulatory requirements.
The TSB will also examine the terrain at the end of the runway at Halifax/Stanfield Airport to determine what role it played in aircraft damage.
