A Boeing 737 carrying 140 people has crashed at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida. The incident happened at 9:40 PM when the Miami Air International plane skidded off the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville in Florida and into the St. Johns River.
Boeing 737-800 attempting to land at a military base there during a thunderstorm, injuring 21 people. There were no reports of fatalities or critical injuries. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter that all 21 of the injured were taken to a hospital, where they were listed in good condition.
A Miami Air Boeing 737-800, registration N732MA, operating as Flight 293 from Cuba’s Leeward Point Field at Guantánamo Bay experienced a runway overrun upon landing at Jacksonville Naval Air Station/Towers Field (KNIP), Jacksonville, Florida.
The airplane came to rest in the shallow waters of St. Johns River, sustaining substantial damage. The aircraft had departed Guantánamo Bay at 23:19 UTC and arrived at Jacksonville at 01:43 UTC (21:43 local time).
https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines/status/1124531006436827136
At the time of landing a thunderstorm was active in the area.
The sheriff’s tweet was accompanied by two photographs showing the plane, bearing the logo of Miami Air International, resting in shallow water and fully intact.
#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS
— Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019
“The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for,” the sheriff’s office said on Twitter.
The military base is situated on the western bank of the St Johns River about 8 miles south of central Jacksonville, in the northeastern corner of Florida about 350 miles north of Miami.
Miami Air International is a charter airline operating a fleet of the Boeing 737-800, different from the 737 MAX 8 aircraft that has been grounded following two fatal crashes involving that plane.
Flight path of flight #LL293 that overshot the runway at Jacksonville Airport in Floridahttps://t.co/gUa3kw8qjK pic.twitter.com/f9MzeMthER
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) May 4, 2019
Representatives for the airline could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters on Friday evening.
The charter company is contracted by the military for its twice-weekly “rotator” roundtrip service between the US mainland and Guantanamo Bay, said Bill Dougherty, a spokesman for the Jacksonville base.
It flies every Tuesday and Friday from the Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia to the Jacksonville air station and on to Cuba. It then flies back to Virginia with a stop again at Jacksonville, he said.
The rotator service typically flies military personnel, family members, contractors and other civilians travelling from the United States to Guantanamo Bay. But officials said the mix of civilians and military personnel on the plane that crash-landed was not immediately known.
A Boeing spokesman said that the company was aware of the incident and was gathering information
