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A Lower Burrell native was among 77 people aboard a Boeing 717 that slipped from a taxiway before takeoff Wednesday night at Pittsburgh International Airport.
Kristen Singleton, 46, had a window seat on Delta Air Lines flight 2231. Sitting in the middle part of the plane, she looked outside as the plane taxied to prepare for take off.
“Suddenly I was looking at a ditch,” she said. “We were coming to the end of the runway to make a turn to take off in the other direction, and we just never stopped rolling at the end of the runway.
It wasn’t until Singleton and other passengers used the stairs to get off the plane that they realized how bad the situation could have been, she said.
No one was injured, but the plane had slipped halfway into a ravine. The crew explained the situation to passengers as they worked out a plan to get passengers off the plane safely, Singleton said.
The people who were seated in the front got out first to keep the weight behind the aircraft, which remained in the taxiway.
Passengers were worried, but remained calm throughout, Singleton said.
“The crew was great. The ground crew was great, ”she said. “It caught everyone off guard.”
As she got on a bus to the terminal, she asked a firefighter if he was worried about catching another plane on Wednesday night and he reassured her, Singleton said.
“You were the only plane that ever happened to you,” she said.
Singleton lives in Butler, where she teaches at Butler Catholic School. She flew to Atlanta and then to Tampa, Florida to visit her parents.
She took another flight and arrived at 2:45 a.m. in Atlanta, slept at the airport before arriving later Thursday in Tampa, where it was 80 degrees, she said.
She will use the experience in the classroom, she said.
“It’s definitely something we’ll be talking about for many years to come,” Singleton said.
Airport crews continue to work with the Delta to remove the aircraft from the airfield, Allegheny County Airport Authority spokesperson Bob Kerlik said.
They are using heavy equipment to remove the plane and are waiting for specialized equipment to arrive later Thursday.
The cause of the incident is under investigation 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 looking into what happened in coordination with the Allegheny County Airport Authority and others.
The airline is also working to get baggage to customers on the flight.
“Many customers chose to continue their journey Wednesday evening on another Delta supplied plane, while others left this morning on a scheduled flight,” Durrant said. “We have been in contact with all customers and we apologize for the inconvenience caused.”
Tom Davidson is a staff writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Tom at 724-226-4715, [email protected] or via Twitter .
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