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 on Wednesday. Lloyd Robinson / AP
Kingston, Jamaica –An American Airlines flight carrying 154 people, skidded across a Jamaican runway in heavy rain overshooting the runway.
Jamaican government officials confirmed there were 44 people taken to hospitals with broken bones and back pains and four were seriously hurt, however American Airlines reported nobody suffered life-threatening injuries.
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Passenger, Robert Mais said the plane didn't seem to slow as it skittered down the runway.
“The plane came to a halt about 10 to 15 feet from the Caribbean Sea and passengers walked along the beach to be picked up by a bus,” Mais said.
Rain came through the roof of the darkened jet and baggage from the overhead compartments was strewn about the cabin, he said.
Passenger Natalie Morales Hendricks told NBC's "Today" that the plane began to skid upon landing.
“Before I knew it, everything was black and we were crashing,” Hendricks said. “Everybody’s overhead baggage started to fall. Literally, it was like being in a car accident. People were screaming, I was screaming.”
Hendricks said there was smoke and debris everywhere after the plane halted. “It was a mess, everybody could smell jet fuel,” she said.
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