Dozens injured as US plane overshoots runway
An American Airlines flight from Miami overshot a runway and broke in two during a heavy rainstorm in Kingston, Jamaica early today, injuring dozens of people.
There were no reports of deaths.
Flight 331 took off from Miami International Airport at 8.52pm yesterday local time (1.52am Irish time) and arrived at Norman Manley International Airport at 10.22pm (3.22am Irish time). It originated at Reagan National Airport in Washington DC.
Jamaican information minister Daryl Vaz said “the airplane is broken in two” and 29 people were taken to Kingston Public Hospital. He said others were treated at the airport.
All passengers were off the plane that normally carries 140 people plus the crew, said American Airlines spokesman Charley Wilson.
Those getting off the plane were bleeding, mostly from the upper parts of their bodies. Officials did not know the extent of the injuries.
Passenger Pilar Abaurrea of Keene, New Hampshire, described a chaotic scene as the plane skidded along the runway in heavy rain.
She said: saying: “All of a sudden, when it hit the ground, the plane was kind of bouncing, someone said the plane was skidding and there was panic.”
Kingston policeman Oneil Hinds said officers at the scene reported that the plane ran off the end of the runway.
As the crew opened the emergency exits and people scrambled to get off, 62-year-old Ms Abaurrea and her husband Gary Wehrwein noticed a number of people with injuries, including one person who had a cut on his head from falling baggage.
Ms Abaurrea said she had pain in her neck and back from the impact and her husband had pain in his shoulder caused by falling luggage, but were otherwise unhurt. “I’m a little bit shook up but OK,” she said.
She said the entire flight was very turbulent, with the crew being forced to halt the beverage service three times before finally giving it up.
Just before landing the pilot warned of more turbulence but said it probably would not be much worse than what they had experienced so far.
