An unfortunate incident in Canada played out on Friday as an Air Canada CRJ900's nose was lifted in Regina after a catering truck became stuck underneath the aircraft. The flight was delayed, but the aircraft was able to depart after the incident. There were no reported injuries as a result of the incident.
Air Canada CRJ900 tips backward
On Friday morning, January 9th, an Air Canada CRJ900 was at the gate at Regina International Airport (YQR). As the aircraft was being prepared for departure, a catering truck that was loading food and beverage onto the aircraft became stuck underneath the plane.
The result was that the aircraft tipped backward due to the truck being wedged underneath the jet. According to a report in Global News, the aircraft did not have any passengers onboard at the time of the incident. However, it did impact some flights, as the plane had to be moved off the catering truck via a crane.
According to data from Flightradar24, the aircraft departed late in the evening out of Regina and headed to Calgary International Airport (YYC). The aircraft incident delayed two flights out of Calgary. one appears to be AC7944 heading to Toronto, which left about three hours late out of Regina. The other flight was AC8571, which departed about 40 minutes late and headed to Vancouver.
It appears the jet was ferried to YYC, as it has not flown any legs since then. It is likely either undergoing inspections or repairs in Calgary to ensure the aircraft is alright for service.
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The aircraft
The plane in question is registered as C-GJHZ. According to data from Flightradar24, the plane is an Air Canada Express jet that operates regional flights on behalf of Air Canada. Jazz Aviation operates this specific aircraft. This plane exclusively flies missions under the Air Canada Express brand.
The CRJ900 is a common regional aircraft in many countries, including the United States and Canada, where the plane was produced. There are 31 flying for Air Canada. These planes are outfitted with room for 76. This includes 12 in business class and 64 in economy.
While many will associate regional jets with a lack of amenities, some of Air Canada's CRJ900s include personal seatback screens, which are rare onboard some airlines' mainline narrowbodies, let alone regional jets.
Mishaps happen, but this is rare
Incidents do happen in aviation. Many different things can go wrong on the ground, but most flights worldwide arrive and depart safely without incident. Many of these issues are unforeseen, but they can impact an airline's operations.
It is unclear exactly what happened in this case that led to the truck getting stuck underneath the aircraft. Regardless, incidents like these normally do not happen. However, the CRJ900 is a regional jet, which sits a little lower to the ground. So, while the truck probably would not have gotten stuck under a large jet like a Boeing 777 or an Airbus A380, under a regional jet, there just is not enough clearance for the truck to have made it.
If you are worried about an incident like this impacting your flight, don't. Airport operations are carefully managed and timed to reduce the potential for injury to passengers or crew. Most planes do not end up tipping backward unless they were improperly loaded or have other weight and balance issues.
The incident on Friday morning was unfortunate, but, thankfully, no one was injured, it seems.
Simple Flying would like to thank Riley Park for reaching out to us and providing us photographs of the incident.
Were you at Regina on Friday morning? Did you witness this incident? Let us know in the comments!