Video Shows Plane Skid Off Chicago O'Hare Runway as Snow Piles Up
An airplane skidded off a snowy runway on Monday as it was attempting to land at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.
A statement from Chicago Department of Aviation and American Airlines spokeswoman Gianna Urgo confirmed no one was injured during the incident.
“After landing, American Eagle flight 4125, operated by Envoy Air, slid off the runway due to icy conditions at Chicago O’Hare,” Urgo said. “No injuries were reported. All 38 passengers and three crew members were removed from the aircraft and are now safely back in the terminal.”
Urgo said the plane was coming in from Greensboro, North Carolina and slid off the runway at about 7:45 a.m., WBBM-TV reported.
A video taken by passenger Joseph Lian shows the plane veering off the runway into the snow. The right wing of the plane slammed into the ground.
In the video, passengers can be heard swearing and yelling as the plane began to slide off the runway.
BREAKING: @AmericanAir Flight AA4125 from @flyfrompti to @fly2ohare slides off runway in Chicago this morning. Passengers tell me everyone is OK, deplaned and on buses to terminal. Video: Joseph Lian from Greensboro. @ABC11_WTVD @ABC #ABC11 pic.twitter.com/rBwyqfVtiU
— Andrea Blanford (@AndreaABC11) November 11, 2019
The Federal Aviation Administration also issued a statement explaining the incident, according to WLS.
“The aircraft’s right main landing gear collapsed. Passengers deplaned via air stairs and were placed on a bus to the terminal. No injuries were reported. The FAA will investigate,” it said.
A Chicago Fire Department spokesperson said that a team responded to the incident, but by the time fire crews arrived everyone was off the plane, according to WBBM-TV.
Pilots attempted to land the plane twice according to passengers interviewed by WBBM-TV. After the crew gave up the first attempt, the plane circled O’Hare for around 20 minutes.
Some passengers expressed frustration at the way the situation was handled.
“The conditions here were very bad. It was windy and it was icy,” passenger Luis Torres Curet said. “They should have known that. There was ice on the road, there was wind coming across. They attempted one landing. It failed, and they came back and attempted again, and we’re lucky that we had a very competent pilot there that knew what to do.”
“When I heard the landing gear snap, I said to myself, ‘This is going to be a bad thing,’” a passenger said after an American Airlines plane slid off a runway at O’Hare this morning. https://t.co/5fplXiojRO https://t.co/YumzSeBEBu
— CBS Chicago (@cbschicago) November 11, 2019
Curet also told WBBM-TV that until the landing gear snapped, the pilot had been zig-zagging the plane to try to get it to stop.
“American could have done a nicer job of at least greeting us, and telling us what’s going on. We had to figure this out on our own,” passenger Steve Krasicky said.
UPDATE: Four hours later & still stuck on tarmac. This is @AmericanAir flight 4125 that skidded off the runway upon landing from #Greensboro at ORD this AM. Emergency crews remain on scene. No injuries. Passengers (seen in cabin) left without injury, or luggage. @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/s7nW3l2Dt2
— Chris Tye (@TVTye) November 11, 2019
A winter weather advisory is in effect as the Chicago area is expected to accumulate up to six inches of snow, according to WLS.
As of 12:00 p.m. on Monday, 412 arrivals and 417 departures at O’Hare Airport have been canceled.
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