WestJet flight WS3252 was forced to divert to Kelowna International Airport (YLW) after suffering an engine failure shortly after takeoff. The Dash 8-Q400 was flying from Kamloops (YKA) to Calgary (YYC) and was operated on behalf of WestJet by its regional subsidiary, WestJet Encore.
The aircraft had not long finished its climb out of Kamloops and reached a cruising altitude of 24,000ft when the right-hand engine flamed out and then failed. The crew decided to immediately shut down the Pratt & Whitney PW150 engine and descend to an altitude of 10,000 ft.
Around 45 minutes later, flight WS3252 landed safely on runway 16 at Kelowna International Airport, and there were no reported injuries among the 75 passengers and crew onboard. The flight’s zigzag routing can be seen on FlightRadar24.com:
According to Kelowna International Airport, where the aircraft is believed to be still on the ground undergoing further maintenance checks, the cause of the incident was a mechanical failure. A spokesperson for WestJet said,
The emergency diversion took place on March 2nd, and videos showing the engine failure have since surfaced on social media:
WestJet Encore and the Dash Q8-400
The aircraft operating flight WS3252 is registered as C-GVEN. According to data from ch-aviation.com, the Dash 8-Q400 Next Gen was delivered new to WestJet Encore in August 2016, making it 6.5 years old.
WestJet Encore operates a total of 47 Dash 8-Q400 Next Gen aircraft, each seating 78 passengers and with an average age of 7.9 years old. Compared to the original Dash 8-Q400s, the Next Gen aircraft feature upgraded landing gears, as well as an enhanced cabin interior, including LED lighting, new ceiling panels, and larger overhead storage bins.
The regional carrier operates from four bases across Canada – Calgary (YYC), Toronto-Pearson (YYZ), Edmonton (YEG), and Vancouver (YVR), and its flights feed into WestJet’s mainline services. WestJet Encore is no stranger to Kelowna International Airport, from where it has scheduled services to a small number of destinations throughout western Canada, including Vancouver (YVR), Victoria (YYJ), and two new seasonal routes to Regina (YQR) and Saskatoon (YXE).
A weekend of operational disruption for WestJet
Flight WS3252’s emergency landing is not the only major operational disruption WestJet has faced this week. On Friday night, the airline canceled all of its flights to and from Toronto-Pearson International Airport after the area was hit by a severe winter storm. Luckily, the disruption did not last for long, and reduced services were resumed on Saturday morning.