Though 91 passengers were injured in the crash, none of them was reported to be in critical condition.
Flight AA 331 from Miami arrived in heavy rain at Kingston airport late on Tuesday. “The aircraft totally overshot the runway and ended up over the road in the sand,” said Paul Hall, senior vice president of operations at Norman Manley International Airport.
One of the jet’s engines broke off, it’s landing gear fell apart and the aircraft body was cracked in the accident, officials said.
Passengers had initially applauded what appeared to be a safe landing at the popular winter sun destination, according to media reports. But the Boeing 737 jet ploughed through the perimeter fence, skidded across a road and ended up on the beachfront. The airport was immediately closed and all other flights were diverted.
Information Minister Daryl Vaz said most of the injured had been released from hospitals. Four passengers may have to stay overnight at the hospital, Vaz said.
“Preliminary reports indicate there are no serious injuries,” American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said in a recorded statement.
The flight had originated at Washington’s Reagan National Airport and had stopped at Miami before travelling on to Kingston it crash landed at 10:22 pm (0322 GMT on Wednesday).
“All I know is that the plane landed and fell apart,” passenger Betrie Carr-Camerom told AFP, adding that after the jet came to a halt people immediately rushed for the exits, where emergency slides were deployed. She said she was most concerned about the airport’s emergency response efforts. “We were there for about 20 minutes or more and there was no one there,” she said. “What if there was a fire? We would’ve all died.”
The airline is working with the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Authority, he said.