Prayer Request -- Jet slides off runway, boy killed
Including the Burbank, CA incident ... at first glance this is Southwest's first fatality. And right now I feel really sick. Not only for the boy, which is tragic ... but for the pilot and crew as well. I can't image what the parents and the crew will have to live through.
Please keep them all in your prayers.
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- A Southwest Airlines Co. jet attempting to land at Chicago Midway Airport in heavy snow Thursday night slid off a runway and crashed through a fence into a busy street, hitting two vehicles and killing a 6-year-old boy, according to media reports.
Two of the 98 passengers on the Southwest flight suffered minor injuries, and as many as eight other people in the vehicles were taken to local hospitals, according to media reports.
The flight originated in Baltimore and was bound for Las Vegas after stopping in Chicago.
The airport was closed indefinitely after the accident, which occurred about 7:15 p.m. Central in heavy snow.
Midway, Chicago's second-largest after O-Hare International, had reported 7 inches of snow Thursday, but airport officials said runways were open and conditions acceptable at the time of the accident, according to media reports.
The Southwest Boeing 737 slid through the northwest corner of the airport, through the boundary fence and into a road bordering the airport, the Associated Press reported, citing the Federal Aviation Administration's regional office in Chicago.
At least two vehicles were damaged, and one was pinned under the plane, the AP said.
National Transportation Safety Board and FAA officials from Washington were on their way to Chicago to investigate.
posted by iWantToKeepAnon at 12:05 AM |
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quote -- The mother, in her 30s, was in good condition; the father, in his 40s, was in serious condition; the 4-year-old middle son was in fair condition; and the infant was in serious condition, Song said.
Southwest Airlines’ Flight 1248 was involved in an incident Thursday, December 8, at Chicago Midway Airport at approximately 7:15 p.m. CST while the aircraft, a Boeing 737-700, was landing. The aircraft veered off the runway onto Central and 55th Avenue, beyond the northwest corner of the runway. Flight 1248 was scheduled for a 4:50 p.m. CST departure out of Baltimore/Washington International Airport, but the aircraft’s departure was delayed until 5:50 p.m. CST because of weather. The flight arrived at Chicago Midway at 7:15 p.m., after circling the Chicago Midway Airport for approximately 35 minutes.
The preliminary passenger list indicated the aircraft carried 98 passengers with a crew of five. Initial information is that 11 individuals have been taken to a local hospital while the remaining passengers have been taken to a safe place in the airport, having no reported injuries.
Southwest Airlines' immediate concern is with those affected both on the aircraft and on the ground. Southwest Airlines Employees are in the process of contacting the families of passengers and Crewmembers, as well as those affected on the ground. Southwest Airlines has deployed an aircraft of Employees to assist passengers of Flight 1248. Passenger names will not be released until the appropriate family members have been notified.
Southwest Airlines has the injured and the families and friends of those who have been touched by this incident in our thoughts and prayers. We are currently working with all available emergency teams at the scene in addition to assisting the families of the passengers and Crewmembers onboard.
Southwest Airlines' officials are in direct contact with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and other agencies as they perform an investigation into the cause of this accident.
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-700 tail number N-471. Southwest took delivery of this aircraft in July 2004. The aircraft was released from the airline's Phoenix maintenance facility on Dec. 7, 2005. There were no indications that the aircraft was experiencing any type of maintenance problems.
The Southwest Airlines Captain on Flight 1248 has been flying for the airline for ten years. The Southwest Airlines First Officer on Flight 1248 has been flying for the airline for more than two years.