Southwest Jet Skids Into Mud At Long Island Airport [With ATC Audio]
Tags: Aviation accidents and incidents, Islip MacArthur Airport (ISP), N718SW, runway excursions, Southwest Airlines, Southwest Airlines Flight 4695, Tampa International Airport (TPA), weather
AUDIO: “We just made your day very exciting.”
Southwest Flight 4695, a Boeing 737-700-operated (N718SW) service to Tampa, was rolling to Runway 6 when, according to air traffic control recordings archived by LiveATC.net, the plane Islipped skidded off taxiway S just before it was meant to turn left onto taxiway A.
With over an inch of rain having fallen on the airfield over the previous 24 hours, the grass was quite soft, and the aircraft came to a stop with all its wheels at least two feet deep in mud. Photos showed the left engine touching the ground.
The 129 passengers were forced to deplane onto the taxiway and were bussed back to the terminal. A replacement plane departed with a 6+ hour delay just after noon.
The cause of the skid was not immediately known. The airport’s 6 am weather update reported a 43 degree temperature and no precipitation had fallen since Wednesday night.
According to The Aviation Herald, Runway 6 remained open, but with taxiways S and A closed for crews to deal with the stranded plane, departing planes had to backtaxi along the runway to take off.
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