Freezing rain at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport caused a Delta Connection regional jet to slide off a taxiway and into a snowbank Sunday morning. The severe icing conditions also caused the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) to completely close the airport until paved surfaces could be treated with ice melting substances.
The Delta Connection flight involved was flight 4100 from Toronto. The Bombardier CRJ-200 departed Toronto at around 6:20 this morning and arrived at JFK shortly before 8:00 AM. The flight was operated by regional carrier Endeavor Air. After landing, as the aircraft turned from the runway onto taxiway J, it slid through a safety area and into a snowbank. Airport rescue and firefighting (ARFF) crews responded and had freed the plane within a couple of hours. After that, it was towed to the gate and the passengers deplaned there. There were no injuries reported among the passengers or crew.
Following the incident, PANYNJ closed the airport to all aircraft movements. In addition to not allowing aircraft to land or take off, all aircraft on the ground were ordered to hold their position until the runways and taxiways could be treated with ice removal agents. After about an hour, taxiing aircraft began to be allowed to move once their path had been cleared of ice. Those aircraft returned to the gate to wait for the runways to reopen.
Shortly after 10 AM, JFK’s runway 22L was reopened to arriving and departing aircraft. The first arrival was a Korean Airlines Airbus A380 which had been placed in a holding pattern after the airport was closed. Shortly thereafter, runway 22R was also reopened, restoring the airport to near-normal capacity. The airport is operating with residual delays at this time.
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