PASSENGERS OK AFTER JET SLIDES OFF RUNWAY IN N.Y.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. A Delta jetliner's landing gear collapsed after it hit a light post positioned to guide planes into LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport (IATA: LGA, ICAO: KLGA, FAA LID: LGA) is an airport serving New York City, New York, United States, located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay, and borders the neighborhoods of Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst in the borough , sending the aircraft skidding off the runway during a violent storm Saturday. All 63 people aboard were evacuated e·vac·u·ate v. e·vac·u·at·ed, e·vac·u·at·ing, e·vac·u·ates v.tr. 1. a. To empty or remove the contents of. b. To create a vacuum in. 2. safely, authorities said. Delta Air Lines Flight 554 from Atlanta slid on its belly and spun around before stopping on the end of Runway 13 at about 4:45 p.m. The MD-80 aircraft came to rest at an angle with one of its wheels stuck in the mud. It stopped before it reached Flushing Bay, which abuts the runway. As the plane approached, it came in contact with one of a series of light posts in the bay that are there to guide planes onto the runway, said George Marlin, Port Authority executive director. ``It appears the plane hit at least one of those light posts,'' he said. ``At that point . . . the flight gear appears to have collapsed. The plane slid down the runway and spun around 180 degrees.'' Emergency vehicles surrounded the plane as passengers slid out on a chute. They were quickly put into vehicles and taken away, and then crews began foaming down the plane. Marlin said one person was injured leaving the plane. NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. sportscaster Greg Gumbel Greg Gumbel (born May 3, 1946) is an American television sportscaster. He is best known for his various assignments on the CBS network (most notably, the National Football League and NCAA basketball). was among the passengers. He said he felt a ``sharp veer to the right'' as the plane approached the runway. ``The plane drifted to the right, and then something hit hard,'' he said. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Crews unload fuel from an evacuated Delta jetliner a fter its landing gear collapsed Saturday in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . Associated Press |
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