Jet with engine trouble skids off runway
By Charlie White
[email protected]
The Courier-Journal
An American Eagle commuter jet skidded off a wet runway at Louisville International Airport about 5 p.m. after crew members reported trouble with one of its engines.
There were no injuries among the 46 people aboard, which included passengers and crew, said Trish Burke, spokeswoman for the Louisville Regional Airport Authority.
The jet, an Embraer ERJ-140, had taken off on-time from Louisville International en route to Chicago when the pilot noticed a loss of power in one of the two engines, said Tim Smith, a spokesman for American Eagle, the regional carrier for American Airlines.
All American pilots are trained to fly with one engine, Smith said.
Airport officials learned that American Eagle Flight 3980 needed to land about 4:30 p.m. The pilot immediately turned the plane around and landed it 25 minutes later, Burke said.
The jet’s engines are designed to go to idle if there is problem, Smith said. He said the crew followed proper procedure in returning to the closest airport.
But because of the wet runway, the plane’s brakes did not stop the jet in time, Smith said.
Some witnesses told airline officials the jet began to hydroplane. It stopped about 15 feet off the end of the left side of runway 17, he said.
“It is always tough to get braking traction on a wet runway, and with the one engine out, there were fewer options for” reversing the forward thrust of the plane, Smith said.
The plane’s landing gear got stuck in the mud off the runway, but preliminary inspection found no damage, Smith said.
A maintenance crew planned to use a jack to lift the aircraft and “get the landing gear out of the muck,” Smith said.
Passengers were given the option to fly out on a later flight or stay overnight at the airline’s expense and fly out Saturday.
Reporter Charlie White can be reached at (502) 582-4653.