Terrified passengers have spoken of the horrific moment the passenger jet they were flying on ‘crashed’ as it struggled to land in poor weather.
The Air Canada plane was attempting to land at Halifax airport in Canada when it skidded off the runway leaving a number of passengers with bloody faces and needing hospital treatment.
Images soon emerged showing the plane's fuselage lying on its belly on the tarmac and emergency chutes inflated, while another showed the jet's nose had been smashed and it's wing severely damaged.
Bosses of the airline claimed the plane, that was carrying 138 people including crew members, had not crashed and merely gone through a “hard landing”.
Passengers, 23 of who were taken to hospital with injuries, disagreed and told how they feared for their lives.
Greg Wright, who was waiting for his 13-year-old son to come off the plane, revealed how his son called him just moments after the incident.
He told CBC News in Canada: “He said, 'We crashed, we crashed.'
“I said, 'Where are you?' He said, 'I'm on the runway’.
“I was panicked.”
His son and other passengers were were taken to an airport hangar where they were and checked for injuries.
Another passenger, Lianne Clark, told the station how a number of people were injured in the accident and those on board were left in freezing conditions for an hour before help arrived.
She said: “There was a couple people, all bloodied. Everybody was able to get out, but what was worse was that they left us for an hour outside in the blowing snow.
“I mean, we’re all freezing and we’re looking and going, ‘Why isn’t anybody coming to get us?”
It is thought the plane, Flight AC624 from Toronto, may also have clipped a power line as it landing at around 4am UK time this morning.
Passengers reported seeing a bright flash as they came down, while the terminal the suffered a power outage that lasted a number of hours.
spokesman said: “The passenger list indicates the airplane was carrying 133 passengers and 5 crew members.
“All passengers and crew de-planed the aircraft. Air Canada can confirm that 23 passengers and crew sustained non-life threatening injuries and have been transported to local hospitals for observation and treatment.
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