Global General
Plane comes off runway at Dortmund airport
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-01-03 20:40
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Snowploughs operate near a crashed Las Palmas bound Air Berlin Boeing 737-800 at Dortmund airport January 3, 2010. Some 165 passengers and six crew escaped unhurt from a plane that skidded off the runway at Dortmund airport early on Sunday after the pilot aborted take off, a spokeswoman for airline Air Berlin said. [Agencies] |
BERLIN: A jet headed for Spain's Canary Islands came off the runway at Dortmund airport in western Germany on Sunday, but no one was injured, authorities said.
The pilot of the Air Berlin Boeing 737-800, with 165 passengers and six crew members on board, had decided to abort the takeoff because of a "technical irregularity" that is still being examined, airline spokeswoman Diane Daedelow said. The aircraft braked but came off the runway in wintry conditions.
The plane was undamaged and passengers were able to leave the aircraft normally using steps, Daedelow said.
The passengers and their luggage were being taken to nearby Paderborn airport, from where another aircraft was to fly them to Las Palmas, she added.
Dortmund airport said the accident happened at 7:05 a.m. (0605GMT). The airport was closed to allow for the aircraft's recovery, and other flights canceled or diverted, according to its Web site.
