Rough airplane landing, charges for school bus driver, $800K senior scam: Most read stories of the week

Flair Airlines passenger recounts botched landing in Region of Waterloo

Commercial flights in and out of Region of Waterloo International Airport were cancelled Friday after a Flair Airlines plane carrying 140 people overran the runway during landing. A spokesperson for Flair Airlines says flight F8 501 from Vancouver to Kitchener-Waterloo "exited the runway at the end of its landing."

According to a flight tracker, the plane landed around 6:25 a.m. The airline says there were no injuries reported, and passengers were taken to the terminal by bus. There were 134 passengers and six crew members on board the Boeing 737. The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has been deployed to investigate.

One of those passengers, Kitchener resident Paul Anstett, says he was taking the red-eye flight home after being in Vancouver for business. Anstett says he was looking out the window of the aircraft and noticed something felt different when it was time to land.

"The plane was dancing on the runway a bit. It was moving side to side," he told CTV News. "Oops, we missed the runway. I looked at the person next to me, and I said, 'we’re in the grass.'"

Driver charged after child dragged by school bus near Brantford, Ont.

A 64-year-old school bus driver from Brant County has been charged with careless driving after a five-year-old child was dragged by a school bus. According to Brant County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), on Nov. 1, around 3:56 p.m., officers responded to Mount Pleasant just south of Brantford, Ont.

"It was determined a five-year-old child was attempting to get off a school bus when the doors closed, trapping part of the child's body,” OPP said in a news release. "The bus travelled 15 to 20 feet with the child's legs dangling outside the bus before it stopped."

According to OPP, the bus was functioning properly on the day of the incident.

"My understanding is that the bus was checked for mechanical fitness and found to be in proper working order," OPP Const. Conrad Vitalis told CTV News. "No issues that way, so it wasn't a malfunction of the door."

Police said there isn’t much a parent could do to avoid this situation, but suggest being around the area to help their child as they enter and exit the school bus.

Teen in critical condition after stabbing near Waterloo school

Police were searching the area around a Waterloo school after a stabbing that sent a 17-year-old boy to hospital with life-threatening injuries. The victim was taken to an out-of-region hospital in critical condition.

Police say the stabbing happened in the area of Bernay Drive and St. Moritz Avenue in Waterloo sometime between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. Wednesday.

"At this point it’s difficult to say," Staff Superintendent Eugene Fenton said. "We haven’t actually identified who the suspects are or the motivation for this incident. So at this point that will be part of the investigation we’ll be trying to determine throughout the day."

Both Edna Staebler Public School and the YMCA child care centre were closed Wednesday. The Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) says student learning will continue from home and teachers will teach asynchronously.

Police investigate an overnight stabbing near Edna Staebler Public School in Waterloo on Nov. 23, 2022. (Chris Thomson/CTV Kitchener)

Ontario senior scammed out of $800,000, police say

Norfolk County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are warning the public to be “extremely vigilant” after they say a local senior was scammed out of around $800,000.

Police say it started in August when the victim received a call from a man claiming to be an employee of a financial institution selling bonds. The would-be investor subsequently sent three different transfers totalling around $800,000 and expected to see a return on their money in November. When the victim contacted their financial institution, they were informed it was, in fact, a fraud. They then called police.

The RCMP announced another arrest on Dec. 23 in connection with a series of phone scams that target Canadians. (Photo: Pexels)

38-year-old man arrested after shots fired in Kitchener

Waterloo regional police say an arrest has been made after a gun was fired in the Kingsway Drive area of Kitchener on Wednesday night. Police say they were called just before 9 p.m. to a fight involving four adult men, during which a gun was fired.

Two people who told CTV News they were in a nearby pizza shop at the time say they heard a commotion outside that appeared to involve violence, prompting them to run out a back exit.

"I just told my friend to get down, and then I told him to hop the counter, so we both did and ran away out the back of the pizza place," one person told CTV News. "As we were at the back, we were running, we just heard a couple sirens, and that’s when we saw the cop cars."

The scene following a shooting in Kitchener on Kingsway Drive on Nov. 23. (Dan Lauckner/ CTV Kitchener)