New York's LaGuardia airport has been closed until at least 19:00 local time following an incident in which a Delta Air Lines Boeing MD-88 skidded off a runway, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The incident occured around 11:00 local time, according to reports. The aircraft, which appears to be registration N909DL, was inbound from Atlanta with 125 passenges and five crew, Delta has said.
Media reports, citing unnamed sources, say that no passengers were seriously injured. The New York Post reported that fuel was leaking from the aircraft and that firefighters were spraying foam to prevent fire.
It remains unclear to what degree weather, snow and ice played in the incident, but the New York area is currently under a winter storm warning, with predictions of heavy snow fall and accumulations of between 6in (15cm) and 8in by 19:00, according to the National Weather Service.
The service warns of ice and says visibility today will at times be limited to 0.25 mile (0.4km).
Delta says the aircraft "exited runway 13 during landing". Runway 13 is LaGuardia's northwest-to-southeast runway.
Pictures posted online show a snowy scene, with passengers exiting the aircraft from the right overwing emergeny exit. Firefighting equipment is seen behind the aircraft.
The aircraft's nose rests atop an embankment and appears to have punched through a metal fence. The aircraft's tail cone appears to be blown.
MD-88 N909DL, delivered new to Delta in 1987, had accumulated 70,513h and 54,404 cycles as of November 2014, according to the Ascend Fleets database.
Source: Twitter.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
