Dec 24, 2008 10:29 pm US/Central
Double Trouble At O'Hare Airport
American Jet Skids Off Runway; United Plane Has Mechanical Problems
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
An American Airlines aircraft slid off a runway at O'Hare International Airport Wednesday night.
No passengers aboard the plane were injured.
About 7:15 p.m., American Airlines flight No. 1544 headed to Washington D.C. slid off the runway, said City Department of Aviation Spokeswoman Karen Pride.
The aircraft, an MD-80, was bound for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport went it slid off Runway 22 Left, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The plane hit an icy patch while turning onto the runway, according to American Airlines spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan. She said the plane was not traveling very fast.
The flight had 54 passengers and a crew of five.
Passengers aboard the plane de-boarded the plane, and were taken to airport buses to taken back to the terminal, according to Fire Media Affairs Cmdr. Will Knight.
CBS 2's Vince Gerasole reports that sources tell CBS 2 that the passengers have boarded another plane and within the half hour they should be taking off for Washington D.C. making their final arrival at about 1 a.m.
Passengers have mixed reactions about the icy airplane mishap.
"I'm nervous, scared, it might do it again like the one in Denver collapsed in half, caught on fire," said Deon Conigan of Chicago. "It's scary."
"I don't ever think about the bad stuff, if it happens, it happens, if it doesn't, it doesn't," said Luke Olson of Michigan. "Nothing you can do about it so I don't worry about it."
"I'm very concerned about it but I figure the odds are that, I've heard that Chicago has the best cleaning of the streets and airports of any city in the country so we had confidence it would work out," said Steve Wozniak of Elkhart, Indiana.
In a separate incident, CBS 2 Kris Habermehl reports that a United Airlines jet had a mechanical problem and landed about 9:30 p.m. on Runway 27 left. The flight was coming in to O'Hare from Orange County.
That runway is blocked right now just to the north of the main terminal area with the aircraft that declared an emergency after suffering some sort of hydraulic failure. The aircraft is unable to taxi on its own accord because it has no nose-gear steering as a result of that problem. Fire rescue is on location.
"The plane landed safely and routinely, and we will fully investigate this incident," United Airlines said in a statement.
Due to these incidents, two of O'Hare's seven runways have been closed.
The American Airlines plane is blocking the way to the runway and officials with the National Transportation Safety Board have to inspect the aircraft before it can be moved, said Chicago Aviation Department spokesman Greg Cunningham.
Flight No. 1544 was scheduled to depart O'Hare at 5:50 p.m., and land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport at 8:35 p.m., according to the American Airlines Web Site.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident, Knight said.
CBS 2's Vince Gerasole, Kris Habermehl and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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