Plane Goes Off Taxiway At Long Island MacArthur Airport
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Southwest Airline jet went off the taxiway at Long Island MacArthur Airport on Thursday morning.
LISTEN: Raw Air Traffic Audio From The Incident (credit: Live ATC.net)
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The plane had 129 passengers aboard and five crew members, officials said. There were no reports of injuries.
The Boeing 737 jet was on the taxiway and apparently failed to negotiate a turn at around 7 a.m. The plane entered a grassy area and got stuck in the mud.
"We skidded a little bit and it was a little herky-jerky and the pilot got on and said something like, 'We overshot the runway,'" passenger Michael Savino told CBS 2's Kathryn Brown.
"It was bumpy, like we were in a car accident it felt like," passenger Ben Rizzitello added.
A mobile stairway was brought to the jet and passengers were taken off the plane, which was bound for Tampa, Fla.
Most passengers were able to re-book a later flight, though a few had to cancel. No one was injured, but passengers said they were shaken.
"I'm frustrated," passenger Michael Simon said. "My aunt is in the hospital on life support so I'm going down to see her and say goodbye."
Emergency crews spent hours trying to dig the stranded plane out by shoveling dirt from beneath the wheels and wings by hand.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident.
There was no immediate word on whether Wednesday night's storm played a role in the accident.
