It will be this afternoon before the JetBlue plane that came to a screeching halt with blown tires Thursday is taken off the runway at Sacramento International Airport.
JetBlue Plane EvacuatedAccording to a statement released by JetBlue, "Initial reports indicate that upon landing in Sacramento, Flight 262 reported an issue with the brakes. The crew elected to evacuate the aircraft in an abundance of caution. The airport fire department reported immediately to the aircraft and EMS personnel are on-site to assist."
Passengers reported feeling and hearing a loud thud upon landing, but nobody knew there was a problem until crew members told everyone to get out. Airport spokeswoman Gina Swankie says the 86 passengers were removed from the plane by inflatable slides then taken to the terminal by buses. According to an airport spokesperson, there were 15 minor injuries. Four were taken to the hospital. Passengers explained many of the minor injuries were from evacuating the emergency slide.
Passengers Recall Flat Tires and Rough Landing
One passenger said something felt wrong during takeoff. Jim Fagan recalls "When we first started out in Long Beach and we were ready to go up into the air, I felt there was a flat tire because I never had a takeoff like that."
Another passenger who was on the plane said that the flight attendants began saying "Get out! Get out!" telling passengers to exit the plane. A fire broke out and the crew deployed the emergency slides to evacuate the plane in an "abundance of caution."
"It was a crazy experience you don't expect on a Thursday," said Stacey Bennuzzi, an 8th-grade teacher from Long Beach who was on her way to visit family in Rio Linda. Benuzzi was sittting in the middle of the Airbus A320 when it landed hard at about 12:50 pm.
The airport had to close one of the two runways, but the airport remained open, said spokesperson Cheryl Marcell.
Airbus Safety and Accident Investigation
The Airbus 320 family of airplanes are a group of short-to medium-range, narrow body, commercial passenger jet airliners. The first A320 was built in 1987 and to date over 4,200 planes have been put into service. As of March 2010, 2,300 more orders had been placed for the passenger jets.
The National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the incident. Established in 1967, the National Transportation Safety Board is an independent agency of the federal government responsible for investigating civil aviation accidents and serious railroad, highway, marine, and pipeline accidents.
Sources:
Sacramento Bee: Passengers flee burning plane as JetBlue flight makes hard landing in Sacramento Hudson Sangree and Queenie Wong, Friday August 27,2010.
KABC-TV Los Angeles: JetBlue plane lands hard in Sacramento, KABC staff, Thursday August 26, 2010.
CNN: Four hurt in JetBlue hard landing, CNN Wire staff, August 27, 2010.
Jule Rizzardo - Jule Rizzardo is a freelance writer, specializing in small business advertising and management skill development.
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