In an unexpected incident on Friday, a ground tug crashed into the nose of an Air Canada CRJ-900. The plane was set to fly from Boston to Toronto but saw its flight canceled as maintenance teams assessed the damage to the plane before allowing it to fly once more. Here's more on the incident.

A little too far ahead

According to City News, the incident occurred before Air Canada flight AC 8695 from Boston Logan Airport (BOS) to Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ) on 8th July (Friday). A tug, likely sent out to push the aircraft back onto the taxiway, ended up hitting the plane head-on, with the windshield smashing through the nose of the Bombardier/Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR.

Neither the driver, ground staff, nor anyone on the aircraft was injured in the accident. However, as required, the regional jet was grounded until maintenance could check for damages. This led to dozens of disappointed passengers, who were likely rebooked onto the next available flight.

The CRJ-900 involved in the incident is registered C-GJFZ, first delivered to Jazz Aviation in June 2020 before joining the Air Canada Express brand in the same month. The two-year-old jet is based out of Toronto Pearson and is flown across Canada and the US by Jazz Aviation, a regional airline on contract with Air Canada.

Back in action

Luckily for Jazz Aviation, C-GJFZ was back in the skies less than 48 hours later, leaving Boston on another flight to Toronto (AC 8689) on Sunday, 10th July Sunday. The plane must have undergone maintenance checks during this time to ensure all the sensors in the nose remain functional and there was no physical damage to the cone either.

Air Canada Express is a major operator of the CRJ-900, particularly the -LR (Long Range) variant. The carrier operates 35 of the type through Jazz Air, all in the same 88-seat layout of 12 seats in business class in 64 in economy. With a range of over 3,000kms, this regional jet has the range for AC's missions across the US East and West Coasts, including longer legs like San Diego to Vancouver.

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Air Canada has opted to merge all of its regional contracts under one brand, similar to American carriers. Photo: Michael Bludworth via Flickr

Additionally, Air Canada Express operates the CRJ-200, DHC Dash 8, and Embraer ERJ-175 for all its regional missions. In total, the carrier has a fleet of 114 aircraft.

Tough week for Jazz Aviation

The incident in Boston came after a challenging holiday weekend for Jazz Aviation and Air Canada at large. During Canada Day weekend (1st July), Jazz and AC Rouge saw 53% of their flights axed due to staffing shortages. This came despite AC's attempts to ax 15% of its flights for July and August to prevent such widespread disruptions. For now, staffing remains the biggest problem for Air Canada and carriers across North America and Europe.

Source: City News