American Airlines passengers were led off the aircraft by firefighters after their aircraft slid off the runway in Rochester in an incident AA has blamed on snowy conditions outside.
Firefighters Lead American Airlines Off Aircraft After It Skids Off Runway During Landing
The incident occurred in New York at Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport (ROC). A light snow was falling when delayed American Eagle flight AA5811 took landed at 4:58 pm from Philadelphia (PHL). The flight was operated by Piedmont Airlines on behalf of American Eagle. Piedmont is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American Airlines Group, with flight attendants and pilots paid directly by American.
Poor weather conditions were present at Rochester and upon landing the aircraft slid off the runway. None of the 50 passengers or three crew members onboard were injured.
One passenger captured the following video of firefighters leading passengers off the flight:
— ML Trickey (@mltrickey) January 18, 2024
An American Airlines spokesperson blamed the incident on “snowy airfield conditions” and said:
“Safety is our top priority, and we apologize to our customers for their experience. Everyone on board deplaned safely and was transported to the terminal by bus.”
The weather has been foul this week and we have had many Award Expert clients who have been stranded and faced delays or cancellations. That is never fun, but incidents like this occur in adverse weather conditions and they are not always as injury-free as this particular flight. I hope that no captain ever feels pressure to land an aircraft when landing conditions are not safe, absent an emergency condition.
image: @mltrickey / X
The firefighters prevent slip and fall accidents . When they give me a helping hand , I tell them they would be able to throw me about like a football .
If it had been a Max the FAA would have grounded them indefinitely.
The passengers do not look like they are in a hurry??