Delta jet runs off the end of a taxiway amid icy conditions at Minnesota airport
By Andy Rose, CNN
A Delta jet slid off the end of a taxiway at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport amid icy conditions Tuesday night, officials said.
The Airbus A320 aircraft had just arrived from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and was taxiing when its nose gear went off the pavement around 6:40 p.m., according to a statement from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
None of the plane’s 147 passengers were injured, airport officials said. Passengers were taken by bus from the jet to the gate, according to an FAA spokesperson.
The nose gear of Delta Flight 1819 exited the taxiway while turning toward the gate “due to icy conditions,” Delta Air Lines spokesperson Jess Merrill said Tuesday night.
“Our customers have been deplaned and are being transported to the terminal, and we apologize for the delay in their travels,” Merrill added.
The National Weather Service reported the airport had been dealing with light freezing drizzle, snow and fog Tuesday night.
“The aircraft’s nose gear is approximately 30 feet off the pavement and stuck in the snow,” Minneapolis-St. Paul officials said in their statement, adding that crews were working to move the aircraft and the incident didn’t impact airport operations.
The airport said crews had been working most of the day during the winter storm to clear and treat taxiways and runways, which were all closed a short time after the incident with the Delta jet.
“Unrelated to the incident, all runways were closed due to an increase in freezing drizzle around 7:30 p.m.,” airport officials said.
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CNN’s Natalie Andes contributed to this report.
