HOUSTON – Passengers had to be evacuated from a United Airlines plane after it rolled off a runway and got stuck in the grass in Houston Friday morning.
No injuries were reported among the 160 passengers and six crew members, United Airlines said in a statement. Video taken after the landing showed the plane tilted to one side with one of its wings very close to the ground.
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Flight 2477 from Memphis, Tennessee had landed at Bush Intercontinental Airport around 8 a.m. and was rolling toward a terminal gate when the Boeing 737 Max 8 left the pavement, the Houston Airport System said in a statement.
Stairs were brought to the plane and the crew helped all passengers safely leave, United said.
The airline did not immediately say what caused the plane to veer off the runway. The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.
“All passengers have been bused to the terminal and are being assisted by our team with their onward connections and other needs. We are removing luggage from the aircraft and will work to reunite customers with their belongings as quickly as possible," United said. “We will work with the NTSB, FAA and Boeing to understand what happened.”
One of the passengers, Mike Allard, told KTRK that after landing, he heard a “huge pop” before the aircraft tilted over, catching everyone by surprise.
“Seems like we were making a turn. The plane was going a little too fast and just slid off. That’s what I took it as,” said Allard, who is from New Caney, Texas, located northeast of Houston.
Allard, who is a pastor, said he was returning home to conduct a funeral but had to get someone else to do it for him because of what happened with the plane.
“I’m glad everybody’s OK. I think the Lord was with us and protected us,” he said.
Flights in and out of Bush Intercontinental continued without interruption, the airport system said.
Another United jetliner lost a tire while taking off from San Francisco on Thursday, and later landed safely in Los Angeles, with no injuries reported.