Westjet emergency withdrawal: engine fire on aircraft at Vancouver Airport; 50 passengers use slides

A Westjet flight from Tampa International Airport to Vancouver International Airport experienced a small engine fire late Saturday, indicating emergency withdrawal.According to the Westjet, the tailpipe of an engine caught fire as the aircraft reached the gate around 11 am. The onboard system was quickly absorbed and extinguished, but the crew deployed emergency slides to vacate about 50 passengers, which were still on the board, “out of an abundance of caution.”A Westjet spokesperson said in a CTV News statement, “There is no injury, and the aircraft has been removed from service for maintenance.”Officials at the Vancouver Airport confirmed that the Fire Rescue Crew responded to the incident, but did not need to intervene, as the aircraft’s internal security systems handled the situation. The airport operations and flight programs remained unaffected.The Transport Safety Board of Canada has sent a team to investigate and assess the incident.