A JetBlue plane rolled off the runway into the grass Thursday after the pilot lost steering control while landing at Boston’s Logan International Airport, authorities and witnesses said.
JetBlue Airways flight 312 arrived from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport around 11:55 a.m. in what passengers described as an ordinary landing. That quickly changed as the Airbus A220 “went into the grass while turning off the runway,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in an incident report.
“Yeah, so we had no steering on this runway here,” the pilot told the tower, according to audio obtained by WBZ-TV.
No one was hurt, and emergency crews rushed in and set up stairs so passengers could leave the plane and board buses to the terminal, the FAA said. The plane was towed to a hangar for inspection.
The incident triggered a complete ground stop for much of the day Thursday, and the runway remained closed even after flights resumed.
Initially the landing felt completely normal, jarred passengers said.
“At first no one really seemed super worried, it felt like a smooth landing,” passenger Drew Behmoiras told WBZ-TV. “But we fully went left, veered off the runway while we were still at full speed.”
Passenger Drew Greenberg was jolted awake by the “interesting” turn of events.
“Felt like a rough landing,” he told WHDH-TV. “Put up my window, and we were in the middle of the grass.”
JetBlue issued a statement affirming its commitment to safety as “JetBlue’s top priority,” adding: “We will conduct a full investigation of the incident and will work closely with the relevant authorities to understand the cause.”
Despite the lack of injuries, some passengers were unnerved.
“The pilot said she lost full control of the steering wheel, which is very alarming,” flier Adam Glick told WBBM. “You never know, something could have been worse.”
With News Wire Services
