Southwest 737 Skids On Baltimore Taxiway
Southwest Flight 906 skidded on a taxiway at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) just after 10:00am ET on Wednesday morning, February 7. The Boeing 737-800 was bound for Sangster International Airport (MBJ) in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Passengers deplaned via stairs at the aft of the aircraft, while emergency personnel waited on standby "everywhere," according to bystander Todd Miller. “The pavement surface condition was tested immediately following the incident,” said airport spokesman Jonathan Dean, according to the Washington Post. “The pavement condition tested within FAA standards.”
While the National Weather Service reported light, freezing rain early Wednesday morning, Dean said the airfield pavement temperature was above freezing by 10:00am, and that 75 flights had departed earlier in the day from the runway Flight 906 was going to use. The pilot told passengers that the plane had hit a patch of ice, passenger Donna Edmonds told ABC News.
Southwest released a statement soon after the incident:
"At approximately 10:00 a.m. local time on [Wednesday], February 7, the front of the aircraft operating Southwest flight 906 from Baltimore Washington to Montego Bay International Airport traveled to the edge, but did not exit, the taxiway prior to departure. The 143 passengers and six crew members safely deplaned via airstairs and were bussed to the airport terminal. There are no injuries to report.
The customers onboard the flight will be accommodated on a different aircraft and are scheduled to arrive in Montego Bay approximately three hours behind schedule. As always, the safety and support of our customers and employees remains our primary focus and we are working to get them on their way as quickly as possible."
The Federal Aviation Administration plans to investigate what caused the plane to skid sideways on the taxiway.
This story has been updated to reflect that the aircraft skidded on the taxiway — not the runway — and that passengers were deplaned via staircase, not ladder.
