Thursday, October 27, 2016

Plane carrying Pence skids off runway at LaGuardia Airport

 
 
begin quote from:
A plane carrying Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence slid off the runway while landing at New York City's Laguardia Airport Thursday evening. There was no immediate word of any injuries. The aircraft, a Boeing …

Presidential

Plane carrying Pence skids off runway at LaGuardia Airport

Now Playing Passenger describes moment Pence plane slid off runway
A plane carrying Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence slid off the runway while landing at New York City's Laguardia Airport Thursday evening.
There was no immediate word of any injuries.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737, tore up two tracks of concrete on the runway before coming to rest on a patch of grass.  The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement, "A crushable concrete runway safety technology called an Engineered Material Arresting System stopped the plane."
"We seemed to be sliding for the distance of the landing and a burning smell became very obvious -- like rubber," Fox News producer Dan Gallo wrote in an email.
According to Gallo, Pence said that he saw mud on windows at the front of the plane when he came to check on passengers in the rear of the aircraft.
"We can see mud on the front windows," a calm Pence said in the press cabin about a minute after the plane came to rest. He said he felt fine.
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"So thankful everyone on our plane is safe," Pence said in a later tweet. "Grateful for our first responders & the concern & prayers of so many. Back on the trail tomorrow!"
The roughly 40 passengers and crew on board, including Pence, were evacuated through the back of the aircraft as a large amount of emergency vehicles responded to the scene.
Campaign spokesman Marc Loetter later told reporters that Pence had missed his fundraiser in New York City and was headed to his hotel for the night. Pence later called into his fundraiser being held at Trump Tower from the car in the motorcade as he drove into Manhattan.
Campaign officials told Fox News another plane is on the way, and Pence looks forward to being on the campaign trail on Friday as planned.
A Trump campaign spokesperson told Fox News in a statement the Republican nominee reached out to his running mate after the incident.
"Mr. Trump did reach out to Gov Pence and is very glad everyone on board plane is safe," Trump campaign spokesperson Stephanie Grisham said.
Trump later told a crowd a campaign rally in Geneva, Ohio that "everbody is fine."
"I just spoke to our future Vice President and he's okay," Trump told supporters. "Do you know he was in a big accident wth the plane? The plane skidded off the runway and was pretty close to grave, grave danger, but I just spoke to Mike Pence and he's fine, got out. Everybody's fine."
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said in a tweet she was "glad to hear" everyone on board was safe.
New York City's Office of Emergency Management said the airport was closed for roughly an hour a result of the incident.
New York City was being affected by heavy rain Thursday evening. It was not immediately clear whether that played a role in the landing.
Fox News' Dan Gallo and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
 

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