166 passengers escape death as United airliner crash-lands

 

BY KAZIE UKO

No fewer than 166 passengers aboard a United Airlines flight narrowly escaped death Saturday when the aircraft they were travelling suffered multiple burst tires upon landing and skidded off the runway at Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey, United States.

Flight 627 from Denver International Airport landed on Runway 22 at 1 p.m. (6pm Nigeria) and skidded off the left side of the pavement, the Federal Aviation Administration wrote in a statement.

The plane’s left main landing gear became stuck in a grassy area, the statement added.

United Airlines said in a statement that none of the plane’s 166 passengers needed to be taken to the hospital. Those that had minor injuries refused medical attention from paramedics that were called to the site, according to the statement.

Newark Liberty halted all flights while passengers disembarked and the plane was towed off the airfield.

Even though flights in and out of the airport were said to have resumed about five hours ago, the accident had resulted in delayed flights.

As at the time of filing this report, a Delta Airline flight from Minneapolis St Paul (MSP) to Newark Liberty International had been delayed and rescheduled from 3.10 pm (8.10 pm Nigeria) to 4.30 pm, 5.54 pm and now 6 am (11.00 am Nigeria) Sunday!

Distraught passengers are virtually on their own, with difficult options of rerouting their journeys through either JFK or La Guardia airports, both in New York or sleeping in the airport until Sunday morning.

Even then, the Delta Airline officials were not even sure that the flight for 6 am was going to be feasible as they noted that the accident that led to the flight delay did not emanate from Delta and therefore outside of their control.