At least 21 people were injured after a Boeing 737 commercial jet slid off the runway and fall into the St. John’s River near Jacksonville, Florida on Friday while attempting to land at the military base in a thunderstorm. The aircraft, arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members, crashed into the river at the end of the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville about 9:40 p.m. local time.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Boeing 737 with 136 people on board slid into the St John’s River
- An official said everyone on board was “alive and accounted for”
- Miami Air International is a charter airline
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 p.m. local time, a spokesman for the Florida air base said.
Lenny Curry, the Mayor of Jacksonville said that everyone on board the flight was “alive and accounted for” but that crews were working to control jet fuel on the water. “The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for,” the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter.
The flight was arriving from Cuba, the air station spokesman said. Officials didn’t immediately say what caused the plane to leave the runway. As per Reuters, a Boeing spokesperson said that the company was aware of the incident and was gathering information.
#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS
— Jax Sheriff’s Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019
Several countries, including India, had grounded its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft after a Nairobi-bound jet of the same make operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed minutes after it had become airborne in Addis Ababa, killing 157 people.
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. Representatives for the airline could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday evening.
A Boeing spokesman said that the company was aware of the incident and was gathering information.
