38 pax, 3 crew safe, airport closes for a few minutes but quickly reopens

The DFW Airport Public Affairs office has notified ANN that a Delta Connection Flight - Flight 6490, operated by Chautauqua Airlines - veered off the runway while landing at DFW International Airport shortly after 10:00 AM Friday. The aircraft - an Embraer ERJ-135 - was arriving from Oklahoma City, and came to rest approximately 60 feet on the side of Runway 13-R.  There were 38 passengers and three crew members on the flight.

DFW Airport Fire, EMS, Police and Mobile Command Post responded immediately as part of the airport's response procedure.  DFW Department of Public Safety units will remain at the scene until the aircraft is towed.

Runway 13-R/31-L remains closed at press time, and the Airport Aircraft Recovery Trailer has been dispatched to the scene to tow the aircraft out of the mud.

All but one of the passengers were taken by Airport courtesy buses to Terminal E.  One passenger was transported to Harris Methodist HEB Hospital with minor injuries.  Three other passengers were treated for unspecified minor injuries at the scene and returned to the terminal.

Inspectors from the Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) as well as from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are on the scene.  Chautauqua Airlines is coordinating with Air Salvage of Dallas for aircraft recovery operations.  The runway was expected to be cleared by 5:30 PM.

As a result of the incident, DFW Airport was closed at 10:03 AM to assess the situation.  The airport re-opened and resumed normal operations at 10:08 AM, with the exception of Runway 13-R/31-L and adjacent taxiways which remained closed. 

The airport experienced some minor flight delays of up to 25 minutes because of the incident, but all flight schedules returned to normal by 10:45am. There are no delays at press time due to the runway closure.

FMI: www.dfwairport.com