Plane overshoots Jamaica runway; more than 40 hurt

[marmar]

Plane overshoots Jamaica runway; more than 40 hurt
By KIRK WRIGHT, For The Associated Press


KINGSTON, Jamaica – An American Airlines flight from Miami with more than 150 aboard overshot a runway while landing during a heavy rainstorm in Kingston on Tuesday night, injuring more than 40 people, officials said.

Flight 331 skidded down the runway of Norman Manley International Airport in the Jamaican capital. Some 44 passengers were taken to nearby hospitals with broken bones and back pains, Information Minister Daryl Vaz told The Associated Press. Four people were seriously injured, said Paul Hall, senior vice president of airport operations.

The plane's fuselage was cracked, its right engine broke off from the impact and the left main landing gear collapsed, airline spokesman Tim Smith said at the company's headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. Most of the injuries were cuts and bruises, and none were life threatening, he said.

U.S. federal investigators will analyze whether the plane should have been landing in such bad weather, Smith said.

"That's obviously one of the things they will look at," he said, adding that other planes landed safely amid heavy rain. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091223/ap_on_bi_ge/us_flight_overshoots_runway

[malaise]

1. Rain was pelting all day

indeed from Monday. The aircraft broke in three. What saves everyone was no fire. See my link.

[marmar]

2. I saw that....thank goodness there was no fire.

I've flown into MoBay but never into Kingston. How far is the airport from the city center?

[malaise]

3. Very far - there's a map on this thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7304681