A JetBlue flight landing at Logan Airport in Boston from Chicago rolled off the runway and on to the grass Thursday morning. Airport officials said there were no reports of injuries.
The Airbus A220 arrived from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport just before noon. A photo taken by a passenger on another plane showed multiple fire engines and emergency vehicles responding to the scene.
Emily Maguire
A Massport spokesperson said runway 33-L was closed while crews assessed the plane. Passengers used stairs to get off the plane and were bused to the terminal.
“JetBlue Airways Flight 312 went into the grass while turning off the runway at Boston Logan International Airport around 11:55 a.m. local time on Thursday, June 12,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.Â
JetBlue pilot reported steering problems
Passengers on board told WBZ-TV that there was no indication of any problems before landing. But after touching down, they said the pilot came on the intercom to say that she had trouble with the steering on the plane.
In an air traffic control transmission provided by LiveATC.net, Flight 312 can be heard telling the tower “Yeah, so we had no steering on this runway here.”
Passenger Drew Behmoiras said he could feel the plane turning left upon landing.
“At first no one really seemed super worried, it felt like a smooth landing. But we fully went left, veered off the runway while we were still at full speed,” he said. “Everyone’s OK, thank God. Definitely not flying JetBlue for a while.”
Adam Glick from Chicago said this was his “first real plane scare” but he feels lucky that no one was hurt.
“The pilot said she lost full control of the steering wheel, which is very alarming,” he said. “You never know, something could have been worse.”Â
“Safety is JetBlue’s top priority. We will conduct a full investigation of the incident and will work closely with the relevant authorities to understand the cause,” a JetBlue spokesperson said in a statement.
Ground delay at Boston’s Logan Airport
The FAA declared a ground stop after the incident “due to aircraft emergency.” As of about 2 p.m., the agency said there were ground delays averaging nearly two hours because of the incident.
