An American Airlines flight slid off a runway at New York’s Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport on Thursday amid icy and snowy weather conditions, officials have confirmed.
The incident occurred moments after American Eagle Flight 5811—which had taken off from Philadelphia International Airport—landed safely in New York at around 4 p.m.
The plane then attempted to taxi to the terminal, a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement to The Epoch Times.
However, officials said the plane—a smaller E-145 Embraer Regional Jet operated by Piedmont Airlines, a subsidiary of the American Airlines Group—veered off course while attempting to do so and stopped in the grass just off the taxiway.
There were 50 passengers and three crew members on board at the time of the incident, officials said.
Passengers on board could depart the jet safely and were transported to the airport terminal by bus, he added.
The cause of the incident is yet to be determined, Mr. Walker said, however icy and snowy conditions are believed to have played a significant part in the plane sliding off course.
‘Snowy Airfield Conditions’
An American Airlines spokesperson confirmed to CBS News in a statement that the flight “exited the taxiway while in transit to the terminal due to snowy airfield conditions.”“Safety is our top priority and we apologize to our customers for their experience,” the spokesperson said.
The FAA will also investigate the incident.
The Epoch Times has contacted Rochester Airport for further comment.
Thursday’s incident came as snowy and icy weather across large parts of the country has led to thousands of delays and cancellations to flights.
Nearly 12,000 flights in the United States were delayed or canceled on Tuesday amid severe weather, while Monday saw 3,346 cancellations, marking the highest number of flight cancellations since the Southwest Airlines fiasco in 2022.
The latest runway mishap also occurred amid the FAA’s ongoing grounding of Boeing 737 Max 9 jets following a midair blowout on a 737-9 MAX aircraft operated by Alaska Airlines on Jan. 5.
