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Saturday 20 of April 2024

NTSB: Plane didn't slip, it entirely missed Maine runway


AP Photo,A United Express regional jet that slid off a runway during a snow storm is seen where it came to a rest at Presque Isle International Airport on Monday, March 4, 2019, in Presque Isle, Maine. National Transportation Safety Board investigators arrived in Maine on Tuesday to determine why the United Express regional jet slid off a runway, injuring a pilot and four passengers. (Cassie Daigle via AP)
AP Photo,A United Express regional jet that slid off a runway during a snow storm is seen where it came to a rest at Presque Isle International Airport on Monday, March 4, 2019, in Presque Isle, Maine. National Transportation Safety Board investigators arrived in Maine on Tuesday to determine why the United Express regional jet slid off a runway, injuring a pilot and four passengers. (Cassie Daigle via AP)

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board says a United Express regional jet didn’t slide off a runway in Maine — it missed the runway altogether.

A preliminary report Thursday indicates the 50-seat Embraer 145 approached to the right of the runway on an aborted first landing attempt and then again when it touched down March 4 at Presque Isle International Airport.

The document indicates it landed between the runway and taxiway.

Photos suggest the jet plowed through the deep snow alongside the runway before coming to an abrupt stop. Some of the landing gear was ripped off and ended up stuck in an engine cowling.

The NTSB report said one crew member and two passengers being hurt. The Commuter-operated flight from Newark, New Jersey, had 28 passengers and three crew members.