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Brandon airport runway reopened
By: Brandon Sun
Tuesday, Sep. 10, 2013

Emergency crews work to stabilize a passenger from a vintage bi-plane which crashed on take-off at the Brandon Municipal Airport over the noon-hour on Tuesday. (Bruce Bumstead/Brandon Sun)

The runway at Brandon Municipal Airport has been cleared and regularly-scheduled flights will resume shortly, according to the City of Brandon.

The runway was closed and a WestJet Encore flight was diverted to Winnipeg after an historic Boeing PT-27 Stearman biplane crashed on the runway at the airport shortly after noon today. One person was taken away from the crash site on a stabilizing stretcher.

A source on the ground told the Sun that one passenger may be in critical condition and a second occupant sustained minor injuries in the crash. However, the City of Brandon stated in a press release that the aircraft was carrying two occupants, and that emergency personnel attending the scene treated both individuals for minor injuries.

In the release, the city's communications director Allison Collins stated that the bi-plane crashed shortly after take-off from the airport runway.

Following the crash, a WestJet Encore flight originating from Calgary and bound for Brandon had to be diverted to the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport and is currently on standby there.

Passengers bound for Calgary on WestJet Encore's Calgary-bound flight are also on standby at the Brandon airport.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has already cleared airport staff to begin clearing the runway.  Collins said the Transportation Safety Board of Canada will conduct an investigation into the crash.