What happened
On 28 December 2024, a De Havilland DHC-8-402 operated by PAL Airlines Ltd. was performing a scheduled flight from St. John’s International Airport (CYYT) to Halifax Stanfield International Airport (CYHZ). During the departure phase from St. John's, the aircraft's left outboard tire suffered a failure, which left debris scattered across the runway. This tire failure and the resulting runway debris were not identified by the crew during the flight to Nova Scotia.
Upon arrival at Halifax, the aircraft landed on Runway 23. The imbalance caused by the previously blown tire created significant vibrations during the landing roll. These vibrations caused the left main landing gear stabilizer brace to unlock, leading to a collapse of the left main landing gear. This structural failure caused the left propeller to strike the runway surface, which ignited a fire in the left engine. The crew promptly engaged the engine's fire extinguishing system.
All 77 passengers and crew (comprising 73 passengers and 4 crew members) were successfully evacuated from the aircraft. No injuries were reported following the incident.
The investigation
The TSB examined the sequence of events beginning with the initial tire failure at the departure airport and the subsequent mechanical failure of the landing gear assembly upon landing at the destination. The investigation focused on why the tire failure was not detected during flight and how the vibration from the imbalanced tire led to the disengagement of the stabilizer brace.