What happened
On 09 April 2018, an Air Canada Express flight, operating as flight 7228, was arriving at Calgary International Airport from Cranbrook, British Columbia. The aircraft, a Beechcraft 1900D, was carrying nine passengers and two crew members at the time of the incident.
Immediately following touchdown on the runway, the aircraft's nose wheel detached. This failure caused the aircraft to slide along the runway on the nose gear axle and the lower nose gear casting. The excursion continued for approximately 1200 feet before the aircraft finally came to a stop. During the slide, a shower of sparks was visible to the tower controller, prompting the immediate dispatch of airport rescue and firefighting services.
Following the stoppage, the flight crew initiated an evacuation of all passengers. There were no injuries reported as a result of the event. The aircraft was later removed from the runway and towed to a hangar.
The investigation
The TSB conducted a Class 4 investigation into the mechanical failure and subsequent runway excursion.