Probe underway after Air Canada plane goes off runway in Montreal
Posted July 10, 2026 12:09 pm.
Last Updated July 10, 2026 4:23 pm.
Federal authorities and Air Canada are investigating why flight from Los Angeles ended up off the pavement after landing at Montréal-Trudeau Airport Thursday afternoon.
The plane AC774 left the runway while exiting after what the airline says was a normal landing. All 156 passengers and six crew members got off safely.
CityNews spoke to John Gradek, an aviation expert and lecturer at McGill University, to break down what happened and what investigators from the airline and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) will be looking for.
CityNews: Based on what we know so far, what are the most likely scenarios that could lead to a runway excursion?
Gradek: “There is really very little information that we can glean from the videotape that we have of that aircraft landing. It seemed to be a normal landing procedure. And then, the aircraft started to veer towards its right and came off the runway and landed in the grassy [patch] off the runway. So there was no indication of any skidding or any mechanical issues with the airplane. So the question is going to be like what happened in the pocket of that aircraft that caused the pilots to allow that airplane to go off the runway?”
CityNews: What will the TSB investigators be focused on?
Gradek: “They’ll be looking at, you know, what voice and the cockpit voice recorders as well as data recorders on the airplane. They will look at the mechanical state of the aircraft and they will look at all the actions taken by the pilots — voice as well as activity in the cockpit. So they have all the data that they need in those two recorders to rebuild the scenario as to what happened on that aircraft. So we expect to have a report from the TSB within the next 30 days, a preliminary report, and a full-scale report may take a little longer, but this is definitely an incident that requires it.”
CityNews: How rare are runway excursions? And what does this incident say about the safety systems and procedures that are in place?
Gradek: “Well, there’s a concern. I have a concern. I think from a passenger’s perspective when you hear the announcements by flight attendants to make sure your seat belts are well-fastened, install your baggage, make sure all of that is done properly, you pay attention. Do it. Just don’t even hesitate as soon as you hear that the instructions do it.
“My concern on this incident is the fact that it took three hours to get the passengers off the airplane. To me, there’s a lot of questions I’m asking myself. Why? Why do you take three hours to get the passengers off the airplane? Now, that airplane was not going anywhere. It’s in a grass. It’s not going to be able to power its way out of there, get those passengers off the airplane as quickly as you possibly can, and get them into the terminal building. So my question would be on the standard operating procedures that Air Canada and Montreal airport put in place to evacuate those people on that airplane, because that’s not where you want passengers to hang around.”
