REGINA — A WestJet aircraft arriving in Regina from Toronto landed safely early Friday morning after the crew reported a concern involving one of its engines.
James Bogusz, president and CEO of the Regina Airport Authority (RAA), said the aircraft was inbound at about 1 a.m. when airport officials were alerted to the concern.
“When this type of thing happens where an aircraft may be mechanical or have any form of concern, quite often the pilots will request our airport fire service to be on a standby posture,” Bogusz said.
The airport’s fire service responded while the RAA also activated its mutual-aid protocols, contacting Regina Fire & Protective Services and Regina Police Service so additional emergency resources would be available if needed.
The aircraft ultimately landed without incident and taxied to the gate, allowing the airport’s firefighters to stand down.
No injuries or health issues were reported among those on board.
Bogusz said these precautionary responses are not unusual at the airport, which handles roughly 45,000 to 50,000 aircraft movements each year and is the 15th-busiest airport in Canada.
“It’s tough to gauge exactly how many per year, but I would say a handful per year. Sometimes it can be three or four,” he said.
Such standbys can involve smaller general-aviation aircraft, including private jets and training flights, but commercial aircraft have also required emergency crews to prepare for a possible incident.
Bogusz said the airport authority did not have details about what specifically prompted the WestJet crew to report an engine concern, such as whether there was smoke, unusual noise or another warning.
SaskToday reached out to WestJet for details on the aircraft but received no response.
As is standard with commercial airlines, maintenance personnel are expected to inspect an aircraft if there are mechanical concerns before it returns to service.
