USA: Boeing Plane With 143 On Board Slides Into River

A Boeing jetliner with 143 people aboard from the US outpost at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, slid off a runway into a shallow river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday while 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.

The plane, a chartered Boeing 737-800 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members, crashed into the St Johns river at the end of the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville at about 9:40 pm local time, a spokesman for the Florida air base said.

The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for, the sheriff's office said on Twitter.

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.

The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, said on Twitter that US President Donald Trump had called him to offer help. No fatalities reported. We are all in this together, Curry said in a separate tweet.

We came down, the plane literally hit the ground and bounced. It was clear the pilot did not have total control of the plane. It bounced again, she said, adding that the experience was terrifying.

Bormann said she hit her head on a plastic tray on the seat in front of her as the plane veered sideways and off the runway. We were in the water, we couldn't tell where we were, whether it was a river or an ocean.

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.

Bormann described emerging from the plane onto the wing as oxygen masks deployed and smelling the jet fuel that she said was apparently leaking into the water.

Bormann, from Chicago, said that most of the passengers were connected to the military and helped each other out of their seats and onto a wing, where they were assisted after some time into a raft.

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.

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 traveling 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.


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USA: Boeing 737 With 136 People Enters Florida River, No Critical Injuries

A Boeing 737 commercial charter jet with 136 people on board slid into the St Johns River near Jacksonville in Florida after landing on Friday, the Naval Air Station Jacksonville says.

There were no reports of fatalities but local television station WOKV-TV said that at least two people suffered minor injuries and that the plane was attempting to land during a heavy thunderstorm.

The office of the sheriff said 21 adults were transported to local hospitals and all were listed in good condition, no critical injuries. Over 80 Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department officers attended.

The flight arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba went into the river at the end of the runway at about 9.40 pm local time (11.40am AEST), the air station said.

Captain Michael Connor, the commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, said during a news conference that passengers were a mix of civilian and military personnel. Some were staying in the area, while others were set to fly on to other parts of the country.

While the crash certainly wasn't ideal, Connor acknowledged that it could have been much worse.

I think it is a miracle, Connor said. We could be talking about a different story this evening.

Officials did not immediately say what caused the plane to leave the runway. Boeing said in a tweet Friday night that it was investigating: "We are aware of an incident in Jacksonville, Fla., and are gathering information."

It wasn't known how long it would take to remove the plane from the river, but Connor said the landing gear appeared to be resting on the river bed, making it unlikely for the aircraft to float away.

He said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks almost immediately after securing the passengers' safety.

Liz Torres told the Florida Times-Union that she heard what sounded like a gunshot Friday night from her home in Orange Park, about 8 kilometres south of NAS Jacksonville.

She then drove down to a Target parking lot where police and firefighters were staging to find out more.

I've never seen anything like this, she said.

The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, said on Twitter that everyone on board the flight was alive and accounted for.

Curry said in a separate tweet that US President Donald Trump had called him to offer help.

The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said on Twitter.

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 with minimal damage.

The plane appeared to be missing its nose.

Navy security and emergency response personnel were on the scene and monitoring the situation, the Navy said. Family members who were expecting the arrival of passengers were instructed to stand by.

Miami Air International is a charter airline operating a fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

The Federal Aviation Administration was referring media inquiries to NAS Jacksonville.

Connor said National Transportation Safety Board investigators were already on their way.


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