Pets Trapped Aboard Boeing 737 Plane Which Skidded Off Runway Into a Florida River

A passenger plane charted by the military on May 3, 2019, slid off a runway crashing into the Florida River.

The Boeing 737 plane which carried seven members of the crew and 136 passengers was on route from Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay and was set to land at Jacksonville’s Naval Air Station.

The plane passed through a thunderstorm, skidded off the runway and crashed into the St. John’s River. The plane did not totally submerge.

Firefighters helped the passengers, who all survived. Twenty-one passengers were transported to a local hospital with minor injuries.

Jacksonville Station’s commanding officer Michael Connor said in a news conference on May 4 that they should all be thankful because everybody could be talking about a story which was different.

He had to mention the professionalism of the people who helped rescue the passengers from the plane. He continued by saying the plane was carrying back to the United States civilian government employees and their families, and active military.

He added the passengers and crew had to be rescued from the wings of the plane.

Adding some of the passengers were returning to be reunited with their families, and others were connecting to another plane to return to their homes in outer states.

Lenny Curry, Jacksonville Mayor, tweeted on Twitter that no fatalities have been reported, and everybody was in this together. He also said Trump offered his assistance.

MSNBC reported on May 4 that while the passengers have been rescued, pets remain onboard. It is not known the status of the dogs and cats, and a plan has not been announced if they will be recovered.

Written by Barbara Sobel

Sources:

BBC: Boeing 737 skids off runway into Florida river
CNN: The NTSB is now on the scene where a jet with 143 people slid into a Florida river en route from Guantanamo Bay
CBS: Jacksonville has had two previous commercial plane crashes

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