Photos, Video: American Airlines AA331 Jamaica crash landing update

American Airlines AA331

The lights went out and chaos and screaming began when luggage started falling from the overhead bins of American Airlines Flight AA331. The plane skidded down the runway, careened across the road and barreled through a perimeter fence, where it eventually crashed into a sandy embankment. Landing just 10-15 feet from the water, the Boeing 737-800 plane's fuselage was broken in two places, both engines were separated from the wings, and both sides of the main landing gear were damaged.

Flight AA331 began its trip in Washington D.C., then to Miami and on to Kingston, Jamaica, when it hit turbulent weather and heavy rain. Passenger Natalie Morales-Hendricks told NBC’s Today show. “It was a normal flight, it was just very turbulent. It was like being in a car accident. People were screaming. I was screaming, covering my face and hands, and the next thing you know, we’re at a standstill. That's when I smelled smoke. There was smoke and debris everywhere. You could smell jet fuel all over”

CNN reports that ninety-one people were taken to a hospital Tuesday evening after an American Airlines plane overran a runway near Kingston, Jamaica, during bad weather and crashed into a fence, officials said. Earlier reports were putting that number just over 40. While there were no fatalities, there were bumps and bruises, cuts and lacerations and broken bones. People were generally shaken up as they were escorted from the American Airlines plane.

Jamaican Information Minister Daryl Vaz said most of the 91 injured passengers had been released from hospitals. Four passengers may have to stay overnight at the hospital, Vaz said. The flight crew suffered minor injuries like everyone else.

New York Times reports, "The Federal Aviation Administration supplied a plane for six National Transportation Safety Board investigators and one F.A.A. safety investigator, which left Washington at about 9 A.M. The Safety Board referred reporters to the Jamaican Civil Aviation Authority, which, by international treaty, the Safety Board is assisting. It seemed likely, though, that the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder would be decoded in the United States, probably by the Safety Board itself."

For more American Airlines Flight AA331 photos, and to read the original article, click here.

The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched a team of investigators, including some industry experts, to the scene Wednesday.

• For calls originating in the United States, call 800-245-0999
  
• For calls originating in Jamaica, call 800-872-2881
  
• For calls originating in Canada, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, call 800-245-0999 directly.

Sources: nytimes.com; cnn.com; msnbc.co

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

More Slideshows:

• Photos: Haiti Earthquake Disaster Pictures, Haitians Plead for Tents
• Viewing Rose Parade Floats, Taking Pictures Up Close
• Rose Bowl Parade 2010 Photos: Tournament of Roses Parade
• Ephesians 2: 8-10: Photos of Tim Tebow NIV Bible verse makes a Christian statement
• Urban Meyer: Arachnoid cyst in brain, stepping down after Sugar Bowl due to health issues
• Champlain Bridge demolition (Photos, Videos): Controlled explosion topples 80 year history
• Pope Benedict knocked down by lady in red: Video, photo slideshow
• Brittany Murphy's funeral on Christmas Eve amidst heavy security (Photos)
• Photos: Oral Roberts Ministries memorial service, Pat Robertson opens in prayer for thousands
• Photos, Video: American Airlines AA331 Jamaica crash landing update
• Time Magazine 2009 Person of the Year Award Ben Bernanke, photos
• Photos of Golden Globe Awards 2010: Complete nominations list
• Kabul blast photos: Massive suicide car bombing kills 8, at least 40 wounded
• George Stephanopoulos: First day on the job as GMA anchor (photos)

Photo Credit: Workers and officials sift through debris surrounding the fuselage of American Airlines flight AA331 which crash landed overnight on a flight from Miami to Jamaica, just beyond the runway of Norman Manley International Airport, in Kingston Jamaica, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009. More than 40 people were injured, at least 4 seriously, and there were no fatalities, according to officials, after the plane overshot the runway in Jamaica when it landed in heavy rain. (AP Photo/Lloyd Robinson)