About an hour ago
A Lower Burrell resident was among the 77 people aboard a Boeing 717 that slipped off a taxiway at Pittsburgh International Airport Wednesday night before taking off.
Kristen Singleton, 46, had a window seat on Delta Air Lines flight 2231. She sat in the middle of the plane and looked outside while the plane took a taxi to prepare for takeoff.
“All of a sudden I look at a ditch,” she said. “We came to the end of the runway to make a turn to take the other side, and we just never stopped going to the end of the runway.”
Only when Singleton and other passengers used stairs to get off the plane did they realize how bad the situation could be, she said.
No one was injured, but the plane slipped into a ravine. The crew spoke to the passengers through the situation when they developed a plan to get the passengers safely off the plane, Singleton said.
People sitting in front first got off to carry the weight to the back of the plane that remained on the taxiway.
Passengers were concerned but remained calm throughout, Singleton said.
“The crew was great. The ground staff was wonderful, ”she said. “It just caught everyone off guard.”
When she took a bus back to the terminal, she asked a firefighter if he would be worried about getting on another plane Wednesday night, and he reassured her, Singleton said.
“You were the only plane it happened to have,” she said, telling him.
Singleton lives in Butler, where she teaches at Butler Catholic School. She flies to Atlanta and then to Tampa, Fla., To visit her parents.
She boarded another flight and arrived in Atlanta at 2:45 a.m., sleeping at the airport before arriving in Tampa later Thursday, where it was 80 degrees, she said.
She will use the experience in the classroom, she said.
“This is definitely something that will be talked about for many years to come,” Singleton said.
Bob Kerlik, spokesman for the Allegheny County Airport Authority, said airport personnel were still working with the Delta to remove the plane from the airport.
They are using heavy equipment to remove the plane and are waiting for the specialized equipment to arrive later Thursday.
The cause of the incident is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration, Kerlik said.
Two runways remain open at the airport and there is no impact on airport operations, he said.
Delta spokesman Morgan Durrant said the airline was also investigating what happened in collaboration with the Allegheny County Airport Authority and others.
The airline is also getting luggage from customers on the flight.
“Many customers preferred to proceed late Wednesday night with an alternative flight offered by Delta, while others departed on a scheduled flight this morning,” Durrant said. “We have been in contact with all customers and apologize for the inconvenience.”
Tom Davidson is a writer on the staff of Tribune-Review. You can contact Tom at 724-226-4715, [email protected] or via Twitter .
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