Video: Air Canada flight skids off runway and catches fire; airport closed

An Air Canada passenger plane narrowly avoided disaster on Saturday night when it veered off the runway and caught fire during landing at Halifax Airport.

The airport was temporarily closed following the incident, which occurred as the plane, arriving from St. John's, faced difficulties while landing, CBC News reported.

The incident involved Air Canada Flight 2259, operated by PAL Airlines, and occurred around 9:30 PM local time.

According to passenger Niiki Valentine, who spoke with CBC News, a tire malfunction caused the plane to tilt and skid, scraping the wing and engine along the pavement.

"The plane shook quite a bit and we started seeing fire on the left side of the plane and smoke started coming in the windows," Valentine recounted.

While the number of people onboard has not been confirmed, the airport statement noted that passengers were evacuated and moved to a hangar for medical checks.

The plane, with a near-full capacity of 80 passengers, was operated by PAL Airlines.