Horizon Air Q400 Runs off end of Runway – Safety at Island Airport Questioned

According to the Bellingham, Washington Herald (see story below) a Horizon Air Q400 ran 50 feet off the end of the runway Sunday night into grass. No one was hurt.

“If that had occurred at the Toronto Island Airport, there could have been a major disaster” said Brian Iler, Chair of CommunityAIR. The safety margin at Toronto’s Island Airport is so small that this aircraft would have been in the water, creating the potential for serious loss of life.” he said.

Facts: The runway at the Bellingham Airport is 6701 feet long - 2700 feet longer than the Island Airport’s longest runway. Runway end safety areas at the Island Airport are only 91 metres in the east and only 85 meters in the west. These cannot be lengthened. They are well short of International (240 meters)and U.S. (300 meters) standards.

Beyond the runway safety areas at each end is deep water. Supporters of the proposed bridge to the Island Airport insisted that the airport would not be safe without the bridgeii. In a press release on October 16, 2003 (full text attached), then Port Authority CEO Lisa Raitt stated:

"The fixed link is a public safety issue. The need for a bridge to get emergency equipment to the airport quickly was identified by an intergovernmental committee almost 10 years ago." said Ms. Raitt. "In the event of an emergency, it could take up to two hours to get the appropriate equipment over to the island and that's not acceptable."

When the bridge was cancelled, airport expansion continued notwithstanding.

THE BELLINGHAM HERALD Monday August 17, 2009:

Horizon flight comes to stop off runway at Bellingham airport

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/localnews/story/1031182.html GABRIELLE NOMURA - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD BELLINGHAM - A Horizon Air plane carrying 76 passengers went off the runway and 50 feet into the grass at Bellingham International Airport Sunday night, Aug. 16. The incident happened shortly before midnight as the Bombardier Q400 was landing after a short flight from Seattle.

No one from Flight 2494 was injured, said Port of Bellingham Communications Manager Carolyn Casey. Passengers and four crew members were transported back to the airport after the plane had gone too far off the north end of the runway.

The aircraft remained in the grass until 8 a.m. Monday, causing Horizon to cancel its 5:30 a.m. flight to Seattle. Those passengers were bused to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Bellingham resident Maria Bakht, who was on the flight with several friends, said it was the most jarring landing she'd experienced. "The minute we landed, we knew immediately something was wrong" said Bakht, 37. "It seemed to be coming in too fast. It just didn't stop. You could tell the pilot was really trying to brake and stop."

After the plane stopped, people were calm, Bakht said. The pilot told everyone that readings on the plane's control panel were normal and had not indicated any danger, she said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting an investigation that will include extensive interviewing of the pilot and co-pilot, said FAA spokesman Mike Fergus. Investigators won't know the cause of the incident until later in the month, he said