Airport firefighters near the right engine that scraped along the runway at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA).
AIRPORT--Panic and smoke filled the air on Sunday afternoon when a WestJet Boeing 737-800 aircraft from Toronto, Canada, suffered a landing gear collapse at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA), sending the airport skidding down the runway and forcing the airport to shut down.
The incident occurred around 1:29pm, right as WestJet flight WS2276 touched down.
The flight’s landing at PJIA was captured by a livestream hosted by St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA), and 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 cross-wind, sending the right landing gear into 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 telling air traffic control (ATC) after coming to a stop screeching halt. “Send fire and rescue.”
Airport firefighters arrived at the wounded aircraft two minutes later, spraying foam to prevent the spilled fuel from igniting. Moments before, the flight crew had alerted ATC that there was 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 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.
A Delta flight and a JetBlue flight were forced to divert to San Juan, Puerto Rico, due to the accident, and a KLM flight and an American Airlines flight are currently stuck at PJIA as heavy machinery has been called in to remove the WestJet plane from the runway.
Delta’s flight has been cancelled but JetBlue’s new scheduled departure is 11:22pm, according to plane tracking website Flightradar24.
“Once the aircraft is removed and the runway is inspected by SXM Civil Aviation, operations will resume,” PJIAE said. “Passengers and the public are advised to contact WestJet directly via their website for further updates regarding the flight.”
Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina said 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.”
Eyewitness
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 right landing gear collapsed and 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 said 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 unfolded.
“I’ve experienced gear landing 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.
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