Poor visibility caused a WestJet flight to overrun the runway at Halifax airport: Report

Report into plane overrunning Halifax airport runway A Transportation Safety Board report says poor visibility caused a WestJet flight to overrun a runway in Halifax.

HALIFAX — A Transportation Safety Board report has found what caused a WestJet flight to overrun a runway at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in January of last year.

The board says crew members of the Boeing 737 aircraft didn't re-calculate their landing speed and distance while changing runways due to poor visibility.

The wet, snow covered runway and wind speed also pushed the aircraft beyond the runway's end.

There were 172 passengers and six crew members onboard the Toronto-to-Halifax flight. No one was hurt and the plane wasn't damaged.

Investigators say the crew assumed the landing distance and target approach speed would be the same as the original runway, but the speed and direction of the wind changed as the aircraft approached.

At the time it occurred, the runway overrun was the third such incident at the airport in two years.

The safety board said the WestJet flight came to rest in the snow with the nose wheel about 91 metres beyond the end of the runway.

"It is important that the aircraft have an adequate safety area beyond the end of the runway to reduce adverse consequences," investigators said. "In this occurrence, the aircraft stopped within the 150-metre runway-end safety area, which meets current international standards."

WestJet says it is now revising its emergency response checklist.

With files from The Canadian Press.