Passengers are praising the pilot of a WestJet flight from YYJ bound for Cancun after the plane collided with a bird not long after take-off and required an emergency landing in Vancouver.
On the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 5, WestJet passengers at the Victoria International Airport (YYJ) had their sights set on sand, sun, and heat.
But plans changed not long after take-off when the Boeing 737 Max 8 airplane was diverted to the Vancouver International Airport (YVR).
In an email to CHEK, Victoria Airport Authority spokesperson, Erin Brocklebank confirms “On November 5, WestJet flight WS 2194 (Victoria (YYJ) – Cancún (CUN)), departed Victoria International Airport shortly after 8:00 a.m. and later diverted to Vancouver, where it landed safely.”
A passenger onboard Bruce Pfeifer, tells CHEK, “One lady on our flight seen birds going into the left engine then emitting unusual smoke. The plane immediately leveled, gear up, throttled back (or shutoff that engine) low level circled for over an hour then landed in Van.”
Spokesperson for the Vancouver Airport Authority, Chloe Reynaud, confirms the bird strike caused the flight diversion.
“We are aware that on Wednesday, November 5, WestJet flight 2194 from Victoria, B.C. to Cancun was diverted to Vancouver following a bird strike. The aircraft landed safely with no injuries reported at that time. Passengers were transferred to another aircraft and continued to their destination,” Reynaud tells CHEK in an email.
Flight Radar 24 shows flightpath of WS2194 on Wed., Nov. 5.
The plane circled Vancouver Island for about 1.5 hours before landing safely at the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) at 9:23 a.m.PT.
“The plane was met by fire trucks in the middle of a runway who after 15 minutes or so escorted the plane to a gate,” says Pfeifer.
While the Vancouver Airport Authority and passengers onboard confirm the bird strike, WestJet tells CHEK the flight was diverted “due to maintenance.”
“I can confirm that WS2194 diverted due to maintenance on the morning of November 5. The flight landed safely in Vancouver and all guests and crew deplaned,” states WestJet spokesperson Julia Brunet in an email.
Despite the delay, Pfeifer along with other passengers have been commenting on the great work of the pilot and all those who assisted with the emergency landing and getting passengers safely to their final sunny destination.
“Pilots should be commended for handling the emergency calming professionally without any further incident,” says Pfeifer.
Passengers were rescheduled for a 2 p.m.PT Vancouver departure and arrived in Cancun by 10:30 p.m.PT that night.
“Fortunately another plane and crew was made available getting passengers to our destination only 4-5 hours behind schedule,” says Pfeifer.
A map of the flight path on flightradar24 shows the plane circling Vancouver Island to dump fuel in order to make the emergency landing. You can watch a replay of the route here.
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