American Airlines Flight 331

Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 12:36 pm

American Airlines Flight 331 Crashes at Jamaica Airport

American Airlines Flight 331, An American Airlines plane skidded off the runway and broke in two Tuesday night after landing in Kingston, Jamaica, injuring at least 40 people.
Airline spokesman Charley Wilson said in a short statement there were no immediate reports of fatalities in the crash that occured shortly after 10 p.m. local time Tuesday.

Wilson said the plane was almost a full flight. He said the Boeing 737 normally carries 140 passengers plus crew.

Additional details were not available, but passengers at Norman Manley International Airport told local media that Flight 331 had just arrived from Miami in heavy rain when the crash occurred.

The flight apparently originated in Washington, D.C.

An airport official said the plane overshot the runway and persons were being evacuated, with some sent to hospital.

“The plane crashed and broke almost in front of me,” said passenger Naomi Palmer to the Jamaica Observer. Palmer said she was in some pain.