Southwest 737 Slides Off Runway at Midway; 1 Fatality

A Southwest Airlines 737, which had been circling Chicago’s Midway Airport Thursday evening in an attempt to land during a snowstorm, slid off a runway and came to rest on a busy street. One fatality on the ground was reported as of 10 p.m. Central Time.

Flight 1248 from Baltimore, which was scheduled to go on to Las Vegas, was attempting to land at Chicago’s smaller airport, when it slid off the runway. Snow of up to 7 inches was reported in the Chicago area as of Thursday evening, but flights were still landing at Midway and Chicago’s bigger airport, O’Hare.

One car with four passengers and one car with five occupants in it, were struck when the plane came to rest on the street. A young boy in one of the cars reportedly died later at a local hospital. Three passengers on the flight reportedly suffered minored injuries.

Midway has been closed for the evening and a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) team is expected to arrive on the scene in the morning. Authorities said the plane will not be moved until the NTSB team has completed its investigation.

Topics Aviation