On Wednesday, August 9th, in the afternoon, a WestJet passenger aircraft at Comox Valley Airport (YQQ) came in contact with a CC-130H Hercules military aircraft while taxiing on the ground. The aircraft was on its way to Edmonton and was on its way to the runway when the incident occurred.
The incident
The two aircraft involved in the incident are a Boeing 737-700 passenger aircraft (C-FWSI), which was operated by the Canadian carrier WestJet, and the other aircraft involved was a CC-130H Hercules aircraft belonging to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
WestJet flight WS-346 is a daily service to Edmonton International Airport (YEG) from YQQ. As reported by Times Colonist, on the day, the 737, while taxiing on the ground, collided with a Hercules aircraft; however, none of the passengers or crew onboard the aircraft were hurt or injured. Additionally, the reports indicate that the Hercules was parked and was not occupied at the time of the incident.
Immediately after the collision, the 737 halted taxiing, and shortly thereafter, the crew and passengers were offloaded from the aircraft. Reports suggest that the starboard side wing of the 737 collided with the empennage of the Hercules and broke off.
Cause of incident
Statements taken from the passengers suggest that shortly after the collision, the pilot apologized to the passengers on the aircraft PA system and informed them that the pilots were informed there was space to taxi around the Hercules, which unfortunately turned out to be false. However, the pilot did not specify whether this information was provided by the control tower or ground personnel.
The definite cause of this incident is yet to be determined. The investigation will be carried out by WestJet, Royal Canadian Air Force, and the Transportation Safety Board.
Operational impacts
As is normally the case in aviation, even the slightest hitch can have a knock-on effect on an airline’s operational efficiency. Thus, a damaged aircraft would result in the airline having to perform unscheduled maintenance activity. Additionally, if WestJet does not have maintenance capability at YQQ, it can further complicate the matter of getting the aircraft airworthy again.
Apart from a grounded aircraft, the airline will also have to accommodate all the passengers and crew, also stuck in Comox. Considering that Edmonton was the intended destination of the flight, it is possible that some passengers would have missed their onward connections.
Simple Flying has reached out to WestJet to know more about the actions taken by the airline to accommodate its passengers and crew who were on flight WS-346. Any response received from the airline will be updated in this article.
Apart from the airline, even the RCAF could potentially face operational disruptions due to this incident. This is primarily because the CC-130H Hercules aircraft involved is part of the 19 Wing Comox Fleet and is used for search and rescue operations within the region of Victoria. The RCAF is reportedly working to minimize impacts on fixed-wing search and rescue operations.