Guam plane mishap hurts 2

The nose landing gear of a Northwest airplane collapsed as the plane was taxiing at the A.B. Won Pat Guam International Airport yesterday afternoon, injuring two persons and forcing the shutdown of the international airport.

Guam Gov. Felix Camacho, in a public announcement aired on Newstalk K-57 Radio, said the Northwest flight from Narita had already landed and was pulling into a gate when one of its landing gears broke.

An Associated Press report, quoting Guam officials, said the incident injured two people but that the injuries were “light.”

Airport spokeswoman Rolenda Faasuamalie told AP that the passengers and crew exited the aircraft by emergency chutes. Only one of the injured was hospitalized, officials said.

Camacho reported that the Boeing 747 aircraft was carrying 341 individuals, including 318 passengers, seven infants, three pilots, and 13 flight attendants. The passengers and crew were immediately evacuated.

“I assure the families of the passengers of Flight 74 that their loved ones are fine,” Camacho said. “They are currently being taken care of by GovGuam and everything is being handled professionally.”

The Northwest website indicated that the flight landed at 2:18pm “but has not arrived [at the] gate.”

The National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating the cause of the accident.

Inbound flights were redirected to the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and others to the Saipan International Airport.

Regino Celis, Commonwealth Ports Authority deputy director, said the Saipan airport received two Japan Airlines flights at around 3pm yesterday.

The two flights, both serviced by Boeing 747 aircraft, were carrying an estimated total of 700 passengers.

Celis said the JAL airplanes stayed at the Saipan airport for one to two hours before they flew back to Japan. The passengers remained on board during this period.

“We’re ready to accommodate any flights that need to be diverted here. It’s no problem,” said Celis.

Those passengers aboard the flights redirected to the Andersen air base were bused to Guam International Airport where they were cleared by Customs and Immigration.

No airlines were able to operate flights out of the Guam airport because the runway was closed after the accident.

Continental reported that as of 5pm, departures out of Guam were delayed pending the re-opening of the runway. The delayed service included Continental’s flights to Koror, Manila, Nagoya, Hong Kong (via Saipan), Narita, Rota, and Saipan.

Eight Guam-bound flights were diverted to the air base including those coming from Narita, Nagoya, Sapporo, Okayama, Hiroshima, Sendai, Fukuoka, and Honolulu.

One Continental flight from Narita was also cancelled as a result of Northwest’s crash landing.

Guam Governor Camacho said the Federal Aviation Administration would determine when the airport runway would reopen and how the airplane would be removed from the runway. (With Brad E. Ruszala)