On the evening of Saturday, 12 July, a minor exhaust fire occurred on a parked WestJet passenger aircraft at Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Passengers were evacuated, and no injuries were reported.
According to Julia Kaiser, a spokesperson for WestJet Airlines, the aircraft—Flight 1285 from Tampa International Airport—landed at YVR around 11:00 p.m. As it approached the gate, a small exhaust fire was detected in one of the engines.
“The crew decided to evacuate the approximately 50 remaining passengers using inflatable slides as a precautionary measure,” Kaiser stated.
Reena Gacad Kirkpatrick, Senior Communications Specialist at Vancouver Airport (YVR), said that the fire was quickly contained by the aircraft’s onboard suppression systems. Nevertheless, airport fire and rescue units were dispatched to the scene as a precaution.
“YVR staff, emergency services, WestJet personnel, and our airport partners worked in coordination to assist passengers in retrieving their belongings and ensuring all necessary support was provided,” Gacad Kirkpatrick added.
Following the incident, the aircraft was removed from service for maintenance. Officials confirmed that the situation did not impact other flights or operations at YVR.
Fontaine, Media Relations Coordinator for the Transportation Safety Board (TSB), stated that a preliminary investigation is underway and that teams are still analysing the data collected from the scene.
