ALERT: Baltimore- Southwest Airlines Plans Skids Off Runway (February 7, 2018)

February 7, 2018

This morning, a Southwest Airlines plane headed to Montego Bay, Jamaica skidded off the runway at Baltimore-Washington International Airport while taxiing. No injuries were reported.

The Baltimore Sun writes:

BWI Airport spokesman Jonathan Dean said that the plane’s wheels never left the taxiway. But he confirmed the plane stopped at the edge of the pavement on Taxiway P, and that airport operations employees, fire department, Maryland Transportation Authority Police and Southwest Airlines personnel “responded to the incident scene.”

No one was injured. The cause of the plane’s skid is under investigation.

The flight already had been delayed more than an hour before the incident. The plane was evacuated, and its 143 passengers and six crew members were bussed back to the airport, according to Southwest Airlines. Skid marks on the taxiway pavement could be seen in a photo [passenger Charlie] Simmons took of the plane.

The plane was towed about 12:30 p.m., and the taxiway and section of the runway were reopened afterward, with negligible effect on airport operations, Dean said.

CNBC reported:

Skids or slides off runways and taxiways are the most common type of accident in commercial air travel, according to the International Air Transport Association, which represents most of the world’s airlines. In 2016, runway and taxiway excursions accounted for about a fifth of total accidents involving commercial aircraft.

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