New York – The snow and ice from the recent winter storm are being blamed for an airplane accident yesterday. The plane slipped on ice and rain puddles when it was taxiing along the taxi roadway after having landed only minutes earlier. Reports show that the aircraft was exiting the runway and had just entered the taxiway. Passengers reported that the flight had been overall normal until the pilot got on the public address system to announce the accident. Some were worried about what had happened but officials stated that no injuries were reported by passengers or staff. Records for the flight note that there were over people on the plane at the time of the mishap, including 35 passengers. An investigation was opened into the plane accident to determine why it skidded. Questions remained as to what efforts were made to maintain the airport road such as deicing, plowing the snow and safety inspection. Experts say that these are standard operating procedures in dealing with snow, ice and rain storms, as part of routine safety maintenance. If proper measures were not taken to avoid danger for the airplanes and their passengers, it would have been expected that airport officials would have closed the affected parts of the airport pending further maintenance or repairs of any hazardous condition. Further investigation of the incident is pending to determine if negligent maintenance was at fault for causing the accident. Additionally, it would be necessary to determine how fast the plane was travelling at the time it slipped off the road. Speeds are often reduced during inclement weather in order to prevent accidents or injuries. Transportation safety specialists explain that the potential for serious injury or death in a crash like this warrants a full investigation to prevent another incident in the future. See this article for more about this airport accident.

Photo by U.S. Park Rescue Technician/Paramedic Sgt. Klebaner [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons