Passengers Injured as Plane Overshoots Runway in Jamaica
The Flight 331 incident happened Tuesday night, Norman Manley International Airport in the Jamaican capital. Crews evacuated the passengers, who had to walk along a beach in the rain to board buses to reach the terminal, the AP reported.
Some 44 people were taken to nearby hospitals with broken bones and back pains, Information Minister Daryl Vaz told The Associated Press.
Tim Smith, the airline spokesman told the AP that the plane's fuselage was cracked, both engines broke off from the impact, and the left main landing gear collapsed. Most of the injuries were cuts and bruises, and none were life threatening, he said.
Smith continued and said that U.S. federal investigators will analyze whether the plane should have been landing in such bad weather, adding that other planes landed safely amid heavy rain.
AP reported eye witness accounts that said some passengers leaving the plane were seen with cuts on their faces or bloody lips. Some looked visibly shaken as they left the terminal wrapped in red blankets, while others ducked under umbrellas to escape the heavy downpour.
A passenger on board the flight, Robert Mais, told a Jamaica newspaper — The Gleaner — that he could hear the engine's reverse throttle but that the plane didn't seem to slow as it skittered down the runway. He continued and said that he felt rain coming through the roof of the darkened jet after the impact and that baggage from the overhead compartments was scattered throughout the cabin.
"Some (passengers) were shaken up badly," he told the paper, the AP reported.
Photo and Graphic Credit: Associated Press
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