KINGSTON – None of the 151 persons on a flight from Miami to Kingston which skidded off the runway late on Tuesday were killed, but 90 were hospitalised, the Jamaican government said.
An American Airlines Boeing 737 carrying 145 passengers and six crew overran the runway while landing in heavy rain, tearing open its fuselage and halting just short of the Caribbean sea, authorities and witnesses said.
Jamaican information minister Daryl Vaz said nobody on board Flight AA 331 was killed, but 90 people were taken to local hospitals, where they were treated for broken bones, cuts and bruises, as well as shock.
“The situation is pretty much under control, there have been no fatalities and the injured are being cared for,” Mr Vaz told reporters.
An American Airlines spokeswoman, Andrea Huguely, said at least three people were kept at the hospitals for observation and treatment. Others were released.
“Upon impact, the aircraft hit an embankment when it overran the runway, so the landing gear and the engines detached from the aircraft, as they are designed to do. The left wing tip also broke away from the aircraft,” she said.
“The fuselage is intact, but there are cracks in two areas,” she claimed.
The causes were being investigated. Heavy rain can reduce visibility and make such a jet harder to halt.
“You will find a combination of things that caused the aircraft to touch down long or very fast,” said Bill Voss, chief executive of the Flight Safety Foundation, a research and advocacy group.
The US National Transportation Safety Board sent investigators to assist the authorities in Jamaica.
The incident is the second runway mishap for American Airlines this month. On December 13th, an aircraft’s wing struck the runway in Charlotte, North Carolina, while landing. No one was hurt. – (Reuters)