SACHIGO LAKE, Ont. -- Passengers aboard a Thursday morning Wasaya Airways flight received quite a scare.
The front cabin door of flight WT985 came open mid-flight just minutes after takeoff from the Sachigo Lake Airport, as seen in a video obtained by Dougall Media.
A passenger who wished to remain anonymous supplied the video from the flight, which took off heading for Sioux Lookout at 10:45 a.m.
Transportation Safety Board of Canada regional manager Peter Hildebrand said there were no injuries reported.
“Shortly after takeoff the cabin door opened about six inches and a warning light illuminated. The crew diverted the flight back to Sachigo Lake Airport and during approach the door opened a bit more and on landing the door opened all the way and struck the ground while the airplane was rolling down the runway,” Hildebrand said.
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Hildebrand added there was minor damage to the aircraft and that the plane will be sent to an inspection facility to try to determine the cause.
The passenger described a sense of being “scared for their lives” among the nearly dozen on board.
They also claim the airline did not consult with the passengers on their well-being after the incident before putting them on an identical aircraft to take them to Sioux Lookout three hours later.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says they are aware of the incident when contacted Friday.
The embattled airline came under scrutiny from Transport Canada monitors after an investigation by APTN was discovered to be violating major components of their safety management system.
In the APTN report, a former Transport Canada aviation inspector said he would have suspended the airline’s operating certificate.
Wasaya released a statement late Friday afternoon confirming the incident aboard the Beechcraft 1900D aircraft and said an investigation is underway. In that statement, Wasaya states one passenger reported an ear ache while the rest of the passengers and crew were uninjured.
