Passengers feared for their lives in Gander crash landing

A Gandercouple saythey feared for their lives whileon the small plane that crash landedin the Newfoundland and Labrador town on Wednesday night.

Dianne and Bruce Applin say they were terrified during the Air Canada flight from Happy Valley-Goose Baywhen theplane began to shake, and windows were smashed during the crash landing.

"I was thinking about my son," said Dianne Applin,one of the three people taken to hospital and later released.

"I'm starting to go, 'I'm going to die, and I'm not going to see him anymore.'"

They were among 14 passengerson theflight into Gander on the flight operated by Exploits Valley Air Services (EVAS).

The plane hit the runway hard as the pilots attempted to land at the Gander Airport at around 9:30 p.m.

Photos from the scene show the small Beechcraft 1900 plane sustained damage. Propellers were broken off and the nose of the plane was damaged.

Bruce Applin said a part of the plane's propeller smashed through the window next to his seat after the plane hit the ground.

"It seemed like [the plane]spun around. The propeller hit the window. It popped the window in on my shoulder," he said.

Applin said he could only think of everyone's safety after the window came in.

"I looked around, I seen everybody and I said we're alive.That was it."

Police say the passengers sent to hospital hadonly minor injuries.

A Transportation Safety Board investigation has begun.

Gander Plane Crash

9 years ago

Duration 0:31

Gander Plane Crash

Tough weather

Dianne Applin says she was surprised at the airline's decision to attempt a landing in Gander.

The region was beinghit by stormy weather, and an Environment Canada meteorologist told CBC that the height of the storm would have occurred just before the plane landed.

She said she had thoughtthe crew would nothave attempted to land in the weather, and would have tried an alternate airport instead.

"I [thought], 'Ok! They must know what they are doing!'"

Applin also alleged the pilot didn't give any instructions to passengers to brace themselves for a hard landing.

EVAShas declined requests for an interview.

Nervous flyer

Dianne Applindescribesherself as beinga nervous flyer, even before Wednesday's incident.

That's despite the fact she works at the Muskrat Falls hydro project, and takes flights back and forth from Gander regularly.

"This is my living. That's what I do for a living, is fly," she said.

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to get on a plane again."

Bruce Applin, who also works at Muskrat Falls, said flying again is just something he's going to have to confront.

"No other choice. Got to do it."

'Very scary'

Kyle Foote, another passenger on Wednesday's flight, said the crash landing was "very scary."

"At first it was normal turbulence and then, once we started to descend, it was the worst turbulence I've ever been in," Foote said.

"As we got closer to the runway, I just knew, this is it, we were done."

Foote said he wasn't sure if he was going to die, but thought of his family as the plane hit the ground and slid.

"When we hit the ground, from what I can tell, the front landing gear snapped, the plane spun around and we ended up coming to a complete stop after sliding a couple hundred feet," he said.

Foote said he wasn't injured in the crash, but is stiff and has a sore back.

He waited about 20 minutes for help to arrive, and said the response could have been quicker, but wasn't too bad considering the weather at the time.

Foote said he won't be flying with EVAS anytime soon, but may again in the future.