Airport firefighters near the right engine that scraped along the runway at Princess Juliana International Airport.
AIRPORT--Panic and smoke filled the air on Sunday afternoon when a WestJet Boeing 737-800 aircraft from Toronto, Canada, suffered an apparent landing gear collapse at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA), sending the plane skidding down the runway and forcing the airport to shut down.
The incident occurred around 1:29pm as WestJet flight 2276 touched down.
The flight’s landing at PJIA was captured by a livestream hosted by St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) that depicted the aircraft’s wings gently rocking side-to-side on approach. Seconds before touchdown, the right wing dipped low as if caught in a crosswind, sending the right landing gear hard onto the runway before the left.
The right landing gear gave way and the aircraft skidded along the tarmac, causing sparks and smoke.
“We’re stopping on the runway,” a WestJet flight crew member was heard on the radio telling air traffic control (ATC) after coming to a screeching halt. “Send fire and rescue.”
Airport firefighters arrived at the damaged aircraft two minutes later, spraying foam to prevent the spilled fuel from igniting. Moments before, the flight crew had alerted ATC that there were still 11,600 pounds of fuel on the aircraft.
The plane was evacuated around 1:38pm through the emergency slides on its left side, just as a heavy rain-shower fell on the surrounding area. The 164 people on board the aircraft were unharmed, but three were taken to hospital out of “an abundance of caution,” PJIA operating company PJIAE said in a statement.
Delta Airlines flight 1894 and JetBlue flight 6887 were forced to divert to San Juan, Puerto Rico, due to the accident. Meanwhile, KLM flight 777 and American Airlines flight 456, which had landed before the WestJet flight, were grounded at PJIA as heavy machinery reportedly was called to try to remove the plane from the runway.
“Once the aircraft is removed and the runway is inspected by SXM Civil Aviation, operations will resume,” PJIAE said in a press release
Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina (second left) speaking to the flight crew of WestJet 2276. Standing on the far left of the photo is airport operating company PJIAE chief executive officer Michael Clever. The damaged plane and its deployed emergency slides can be seen in the background.
Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina said on Sunday afternoon that every measure is being taken for the airport to resume safe operations as soon as possible. “I want to commend the swift response of the PJIAE Fire Department, PJIAE operations staff, Civil Aviation, emergency services and all stakeholders who immediately mobilised to address the situation with professionalism and efficiency.”
In a later statement on Sunday evening, PJIAE said the runway would remain closed until noon today, Monday.
“This closure is necessary to allow for a thorough investigation by the relevant civil aviation authorities and the safe removal of the aircraft from the runway. A recovery crew from WestJet will be arriving to carry out the removal operation,” PJIAE said. “Passengers with upcoming flights are advised to contact their airline directly for the latest updates and assistance regarding their travel plans.”
This newspaper understands that the WestJet recovery crew were expected to fly into Anguilla early Monday morning and then be taken to St. Maarten by boat.
The damage to aircraft’s right side. It appears that the right landing gear could not hold up the plane’s immense weight after the hard landing, leading to this hole being punctured in the right wing.
In a separate statement Sunday evening, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten said the efforts to move the plane would start at 2:30am today, Monday.
Sunday’s closure also had a significant impact on regional travellers with St. Maarten government-owned airline Winair, which had to cancel at least 13 afternoon and evening flights, according to aircraft tracking website Flightradar24. It is probable that today’s morning flights will be similarly disrupted, with the airport’s scheduled reopening at noon.
Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten (left) speaking to airport operating company PJIAE chief executive officer Michael Clever (right) and other airport officials on Sunday evening..
Eyewitness
Local plane spotter Paul Ellinger, who witnessed the event, described the shocking moment to The Daily Herald.
“The aircraft came down as normal. It was a bit high, but upon landing, the right landing gear collapsed,” he said. “The aircraft just started screeching on the runway. I must say, “Kudos to the firefighters.” They were on point with their work, and everyone was able to get out safely. I am not sure whether there were injuries inside of the aircraft, but from what I saw everyone came out safely. It was scary stuff, but the response was very well executed.”
As emergency crews raced in, firefighters quickly covered the area with foam to prevent flames. Passengers evacuated through emergency slides in what Ellinger called a remarkably organised response. He said passengers were in obvious shock, but that everyone seemed to realise that everything was under control.
“Everyone came out through the emergency slides. There were kids who came out also. The passengers were placed on a bus which went straight into the terminal. It looked very well organised,” he said.
The veteran plane spotter, who has observed aircraft incidents before, stressed the gravity of what had unfolded.
“I’ve experienced landing gear collapse before with a cargo plane from UPS, but nothing major with a big aircraft like this. This was my first major one like that for a Boeing 737,” he said.
Refining protocols
Minister Heyliger-Marten visited the airport in the afternoon and later publicly thanked all the people and stakeholders involved. However, she also acknowledged the challenges of an accident of this scale for local authorities.
“It was clear that more work needs to be done regarding protocols for situations like this. For most, this was the first real-world incident of this magnitude, not a drill. A full debriefing meeting with all stakeholders will take place so lessons are learned, and improvements are made,” Heyliger-Marten said.
She also spoke about the logistics for WestJet’s passengers, especially those booked on flight 2277, the outbound leg of the now-disabled aircraft.
“We had to organise passengers into groups, those with passports and digital immigration declarations. … Babies needed food and diapers, others required urgent medication,” Heyliger-Marten said.
A total of 14 departing WestJet passengers had no form of identification and Heyliger-Marten said she had reached out to the Ministry of Justice for assistance. She also said the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour VSA had been requested to have doctors and pharmacies on stand-by.
“Hotels were contacted to host passengers who had no credit cards or cash. It was about making sure no one was left unattended,” Heyliger-Marten said. “By evening, most passengers had left the airport with vouchers for hotel, transportation and food provided. Passengers who arrived on the WestJet flight were able to leave with their luggage and personal belongings. The airport even assisted with hotel costs for passengers of other airlines, while conversations will take place with WestJet for reimbursement.”
