Air Canada passenger upset over carry-on stress
Last Updated: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 | 9:30 AM AT
CBC News
Passengers aboard an Air Canada Jazz flight from Moncton to Toronto got a rocky welcome at Pearson International Airport on the weekend, but at least one passenger is feeling uneasy about what happened after they got off the plane.
The 37 passengers and three crew members were not injured after the main landing gear collapsed Sunday, but Sandy Kemsley says the real stress came later, as passengers waited for hours to get the carry-on belongings they left behind as they were evacuated from the aircraft.
"I would have been a lot more comfortable if I had been able to get even just my handbag that had my identification, my wallet and that sort of thing in it right away as it was, since I was kind of stressed for the whole three or four hours we were waiting," said Kemsley, a Toronto woman who had been visiting family in the Maritimes.
"I had no idea. Was it being secure, and how was I going to get it back, and what if I didn't get it back? That sort of thing."
Airline staff had asked the passengers to leave all their belongings on the plane.
Kemsley said she was angry to see that, hours later, her belongings were placed in the arrivals area, where there was no security nearby.
"They brought our carry-on things out in big plastic bags and started putting them out on a cart. And I saw my purse, and said, 'That's my purse,' and grabbed it. And anyone could have done the same thing."
The main landing gear on the 50-seat regional jet collapsed shortly after the plane landed on the Pearson runway. Passengers say the plane touched down once, bounced and landed again, making a loud, banging noise. Kemsley said she just thought a tire had blown.
Air Canada has apologized to its passengers for the delay in returning their belongings, but is releasing few details, other than saying the Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.
Share Tools
Latest New Brunswick News Headlines
- 'Unauthorized' pension change to be reversed
- Saint John's outgoing deputy mayor says an "unauthorized change" to the city's pension plan that would have benefitted the city's top earners if they retired early will be reversed. more »
- Fredericton invites citizens to weigh-in on new bylaw
- The City of Fredericton is inviting citizens to have their say on the municipality's new zoning bylaw. more »
- Workers' EI history to affect claim under new rules
- Human Resources Minister Diane Finley announced details this morning about the government's planned changes to employment insurance that would tighten the rules for Canadians collecting the benefit. more »
- 8 views on EI changes: 'political football' or 'eHarmony'?
- Human Resources Minister Diane Finley released more details of the government's plans for reforming employment insurance Thursday. Here's a sample of the reaction. more »
Top News Headlines
- Quebec faces mounting pressure amid student crisis
- The morning after nearly 700 people were arrested in protests in Montreal and Quebec City, Jean Charest announced he has replaced his top aide with his former right-hand man. more »
- Conservatives move again to have robocalls suits tossed
- The Conservative Party has filed a second motion to dismiss the robocalls lawsuits filed by the left-leaning Council of Canadians, calling council chairperson Maude Barlow a 'virulent critic' of Prime Minister Stephen Harper who has 'orchestrated' the litigation. more »
- Suspect arrested in decades old N.Y. missing boy case
- A man has been arrested in the 1979 disappearance of a six-year-old New York City boy, in the first arrest ever made in a case that helped give rise to the nation's missing-children movement. more »
- Double-lung recipient Hélène Campbell dances for joy
- The Ottawa woman who has become Canada's best-known advocate for organ donation was happy, smiling and in great spirits today as she described her new life less than two months after receiving a double-lung transplant. more »
- Man dies after assault at house party
- 'Unauthorized' pension change to be reversed
- 300 litres of heavy water spilled at Point Lepreau
- Workers' EI history to affect claim under new rules
- Saint John managers ‘duped’ council, says deputy mayor
- Scrap metal plant sparks noise complaints
- Moose on the loose shot in Fredericton
- Food safety course necessary, trainer says
- Plastic bag fees should be legislated, council says

