Air Canada 624
A constant descent angle did not keep the aircraft on the intended approach path.
Fact sheet
- Date
- 29 March 2015
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Aviation Investigation Report A15H0002: Collision with terrain, Air Canada, Airbus Industrie A320-211, C-FTJP, 29 March 2015Summary | Printed page Unnumbered summary | PDF page 3 (zero-based index 2)29 March 2015 Summary On 29 March 2015, an Air Canada Airbus Industrie A320-211 (registration C-FTJP, serial number...
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- Airbus A320-211
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Aviation Investigation Report A15H0002: Collision with terrain, Air Canada, Airbus Industrie A320-211, C-FTJP, 29 March 2015Summary | Printed page Unnumbered summary | PDF page 3 (zero-based index 2)A320-211, C-FTJP Halifax/Stanfield International Airport Halifax, Nova Scotia 29 March 2015 Summary On 29 March 2015, an Air...
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- C-FTJP
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Aviation Investigation Report A15H0002: Collision with terrain, Air Canada, Airbus Industrie A320-211, C-FTJP, 29 March 2015Summary | Printed page Unnumbered summary | PDF page 3 (zero-based index 2)C-FTJP Halifax/Stanfield International Airport Halifax, Nova Scotia 29 March 2015 Summary On 29 March 2015, an Air Canada...
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- Air Canada
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Aviation Investigation Report A15H0002: Collision with terrain, Air Canada, Airbus Industrie A320-211, C-FTJP, 29 March 2015Summary | Printed page Unnumbered summary | PDF page 3 (zero-based index 2)Air Canada Airbus Industrie A320-211, C-FTJP Halifax/Stanfield International Airport Halifax, Nova Scotia 29 March 2015 Summary On 29...
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- Toronto Pearson to Halifax Stanfield
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Aviation Investigation Report A15H0002: Collision with terrain, Air Canada, Airbus Industrie A320-211, C-FTJP, 29 March 2015Summary | Printed page Unnumbered summary | PDF page 3 (zero-based index 2)Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport, Ontario, to Halifax/Stanfield International Airport, Nova Scotia, with 133 passengers and 5 crew...
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- Halifax Stanfield, approach to Runway 05
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Aviation Investigation Report A15H0002: Collision with terrain, Air Canada, Airbus Industrie A320-211, C-FTJP, 29 March 2015Summary | Printed page Unnumbered summary | PDF page 3 (zero-based index 2)Runway 05, the aircraft severed power lines, then struck the snow-covered ground about 740 feet before the runway...
Find this passage in evidence search - Occupants
- 138: 133 passengers and five crew
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Aviation Investigation Report A15H0002: Collision with terrain, Air Canada, Airbus Industrie A320-211, C-FTJP, 29 March 20151.2 Injuries to persons | Printed page 7 | PDF page 15 (zero-based index 14)138 1.3 Damage to aircraft The aircraft was destroyed. 1.4 Other damage Before the initial impact, power lines...
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- No fatalities; one serious and 24 minor injuries
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Aviation Investigation Report A15H0002: Collision with terrain, Air Canada, Airbus Industrie A320-211, C-FTJP, 29 March 20151.2 Injuries to persons | Printed page 7 | PDF page 15 (zero-based index 14)Serious 1 0 - 1 Minor 4 20 - 24 None 0 113 - 113 Total 5 133...
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What happened
During a night localizer approach in snow, Flight 624 descended using a selected flight path angle. Wind variations displaced its path below the planned profile. The crew did not monitor altitude against distance or adjust the angle, consistent with Air Canada's practice at the time. Limited visual cues did not reveal the short approach soon enough. A go-around was initiated too late to prevent terrain contact before Runway 05. All 138 occupants survived.
What investigators concluded
The TSB identified monitoring and procedure shortcomings, reduced lighting brightness, limited visual cues and likely delayed recognition from plan continuation bias among its causes and contributing factors. It also identified factors contributing to injuries. Risk findings are a separate category and are not treated here as proven causes.
Evidence behind this explanation +
wind variations. The divergence continued to increase throughout the approach. The airspeed was constant, and the vertical descent...Find this passage in evidence search
standard operating procedure (SOP) and practice when flying in flight path angle guidance mode was that, once the...Find this passage in evidence search
brace position at the time of the initial impact. 14. Most of the injuries sustained by the passengers...Find this passage in evidence search
Sequence of events
Atlantic Daylight Time (ADT), UTC minus three hours. Early holding events cross midnight. Expand an event to see its evidence.
23:25, 28 MarchCleared to hold
The flight was cleared to hold at CETTY at 9,000 feet while the crew waited for visibility to improve.
Aviation Investigation Report A15H0002: Collision with terrain, Air Canada, Airbus Industrie A320-211, C-FTJP, 29 March 20151.1 History of the flight | Printed page 3 | PDF page 11 (zero-based index 10)At 2325, the terminal controller cleared AC624 for a hold at CETTY at 9000 feet ASL. The flight...
Find this passage in evidence search00:16, 29 MarchImproved reported visibility
The tower relayed a special observation reporting half-mile visibility. The crew decided to attempt the approach.
Aviation Investigation Report A15H0002: Collision with terrain, Air Canada, Airbus Industrie A320-211, C-FTJP, 29 March 20151.1 History of the flight | Printed page 4 | PDF page 12 (zero-based index 11)At 0016, the tower controller advised the flight crew of a special weather observation (SPECI) issued at 0013,...
Find this passage in evidence search00:27Descent angle selected
The pilot flying selected a flight path angle of -3.5 degrees. The descent began about 0.2 nautical miles before the final approach fix.
Aviation Investigation Report A15H0002: Collision with terrain, Air Canada, Airbus Industrie A320-211, C-FTJP, 29 March 20151.1 History of the flight | Printed page 5 | PDF page 13 (zero-based index 12)selected FPA mode; the aircraft was now being flown with the FPA selected to 0.0°. 16 At 0027,...
Find this passage in evidence searchAviation Investigation Report A15H0002: Collision with terrain, Air Canada, Airbus Industrie A320-211, C-FTJP, 29 March 20151.1 History of the flight | Printed page 5 | PDF page 13 (zero-based index 12)0.2 nm from the FAF. The aircraft crossed the FAF at 2170 feet indicated altitude (Figure 1). Figure...
Find this passage in evidence search00:29:27400-foot call, then minimum descent altitude
A radio-altimeter call was followed almost immediately by crossing the calculated minimum descent altitude. The aircraft was farther from the threshold than the planned profile.
Aviation Investigation Report A15H0002: Collision with terrain, Air Canada, Airbus Industrie A320-211, C-FTJP, 29 March 20151.1 History of the flight | Printed page 6 | PDF page 14 (zero-based index 13)At 0029:27, a radio altimeter automated audio call (automated call) of “400” was made, indicating that the aircraft...
Find this passage in evidence search00:29:47Landing lights on, then autopilot disconnected
The landing lights were selected on. Autopilot disconnection and low-height calls followed in quick succession. The aircraft severed power lines before ground impact.
Aviation Investigation Report A15H0002: Collision with terrain, Air Canada, Airbus Industrie A320-211, C-FTJP, 29 March 20151.1 History of the flight | Printed page 6 | PDF page 14 (zero-based index 13)At 0029:47, the landing lights were selected ON, followed in very quick succession by the PF disconnecting the...
Find this passage in evidence search00:30:00Initial ground impact
About a second before impact the crew commanded go-around thrust and full nose-up. Terrain contact was about 740 feet before the threshold. The aircraft bounced and slid along the runway.
Aviation Investigation Report A15H0002: Collision with terrain, Air Canada, Airbus Industrie A320-211, C-FTJP, 29 March 20151.1 History of the flight | Printed page 6 | PDF page 14 (zero-based index 13)At 0030:00, the aircraft's main landing gear, aft lower fuselage, and left engine cowling struck the snow- covered...
Find this passage in evidence searchWithin five minutes of stoppingEvacuation completed
All passengers exited within five minutes. Transporting the remaining occupants to shelter took about 50 minutes from the stop.
Aviation Investigation Report A15H0002: Collision with terrain, Air Canada, Airbus Industrie A320-211, C-FTJP, 29 March 20151.1 History of the flight | Printed page 7 | PDF page 15 (zero-based index 14)within 5 minutes after it came to a stop, many wearing open-toed shoes, shorts, and t-shirts. Some passengers...
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Search the official evidence
Search extracted report prose, with original page references. Short results link to the full document.
Classifications, with reasons
These labels organise the evidence. They are not a ranking of causes. A shared label means a shared research topic, not an identical mechanism.
CircumstanceWeather exposure
Snow, darkness and reduced visibility constrained visual cues. Actual flight visibility at each position could not be known.
cannot be known. 2.5 Decision to continue the approach In understanding why the flight crew continued the approach...Find this passage in evidence search
Initiating eventApproach path displacement
Wind variations displaced the actual path below the intended vertical descent profile.
wind variations. The divergence continued to increase throughout the approach. The airspeed was constant, and the vertical descent...Find this passage in evidence search
System behaviourAutomation and sensing
The autopilot maintained a selected angle, not a fixed glidepath to the runway. Perturbations could displace that path.
below and parallel to the initial approach path. If these perturbations continue throughout the descent and the flight...Find this passage in evidence search
Crew actionFlight path management
The crew did not monitor altitude against distance or adjust the angle after starting descent, following the airline practice described by the TSB.
did not monitor the altitude and distance from the threshold, nor did they make any adjustments to the...Find this passage in evidence search
Official contributing factorTraining and procedures
The airline procedure and practice did not require the monitoring specified by the operating manuals.
standard operating procedure (SOP) and practice when flying in flight path angle guidance mode was that, once the...Find this passage in evidence search
Official contributing factorLimited visual cues
Reduced lighting brightness, few cues, potential illusions and short viewing time impaired detection of the short approach.
limited number of visual cues and the short time that they were available to the flight crew, combined...Find this passage in evidence search
Sources and transparency
Checked against the TSB final report by an AI-assisted source comparison. No independent expert review.
The current E-1 report injury table records 25 injured (one serious, 24 minor). The earlier archived edition has a different injury table; this dossier and search use the current official PDF. Appendices A-D are available in the original report; third-party charts and illustrations are not reproduced.
Aviation Investigation Report A15H0002: Collision with terrain, Air Canada, Airbus Industrie A320-211, C-FTJP, 29 March 2015
Transportation Safety Board of Canada
Final report, released 18 May 2017; current E-1 edition, ISBN 978-0-660-09980-4
Official current Transportation Safety Board of Canada PDF
Open source PDF · Alternate source location
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