Hundreds of passengers were stuck at Vancouver International Airport on Tuesday night after a Boeing 747 somehow ended up stranded in the mud.
China Airlines Flight 32 arrived safely from Taipei around 6:30 p.m. and was taxiing to the terminal when it veered off the pavement and onto the grass.
The front wheel became stuck in the mud, officials say, and the pilot couldn’t free the plane.
Passengers were forced to wait on board until they were eventually escorted to the terminal.
“When the plane turned we notice a sudden jolt, and then we noticed that [the pilot] tried to maneuver three times, then he stopped,” said one passenger. “The stewardess announced we had a delay, there was a mechanical problem. When we got out I saw the plane was off the runway.”
Passengers told CTV News that once inside the terminal they waited for their luggage for hours.
“I think we were stuck on the [taxiway] for an hour...and then we waited for our luggage for three hours,” said one man. “So that was pretty horrible.”
No one was injured.
Crews worked for several hours to free the plane. It’s still not clear what caused it to roll off the runway and onto the grass, but the Transportation Safety Board said the incident was not serious enough to investigate.
