Investigators probing the WestJet Boeing 737-800 landing-gear collapse at St Maarten in the Caribbean believe the aircraft did not make a hard landing.
Transportation Safety Board of Canada states that this finding is based on flight-data recorder evidence.
The twinjet’s right main-gear collapsed, and its engine nacelle contacted the ground, after it touched down on St Maarten’s runway 10, following a service from Toronto on 7 September.
Safety board investigators state that the right main-gear aft trunnion pin was found to be fractured and the two portions have been sent to the organisation’s Ottawa engineering laboratory for analysis.
All 157 passengers and six crew members evacuated via emergency slides from the left side.
“The initial review of the flight-data recorder data indicates that this was not a hard landing event,” says the safety board.
It states that the affected main landing-gear assembly was overhauled in 2016, adding that it is reviewing previous aft trunnion pin fractures on 737s.
Transportation Safety Board of Canada has been assigned responsibility for the inquiry through delegation by St Maarten authorities.
