An American Eagle Embraer ERJ-145LR operated by American Airlines’ subsidiary Envoy Air, skidded off the runway at Grand Bahama International Airport on Saturday.
All 25 passengers and three crew members disembarked safely and made their way to the airport terminal.
Two passengers were reportedly brought to the Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport for non-life threatening injuries. There was some damage reported to the aircraft.
The ERJ-145 was operating flight AA-4194 between Miami, Florida, and Freeport in the Bahamas. It departed Miami International Airport just after 11am local time.
The plane landed on Runway 06 just before noon local time, however veered off the runway, coming to a stop on soft ground around five metres away.
According the a report made on AvHerald, “both main gear struts collapsed after completing a near 180-degree turn against the landing direction”.
The same-day return flight, and all subsequent flights on that aircraft, were cancelled.
Runway Excursion…
(24/October/2020)
– Bahamas ?? :
American Eagle flight AA4194, an Embraer ERJ-145LR, registration N674RJ, flight from Miami (MIA/KMIA) to Freeport (FPO/MYGF), Bahamas, suffered a runway excursion after landing on runway 06 at Freeport
– Photos: Bahamas AAIA pic.twitter.com/Hu8o74Fz5A— Vuelos y Viajes (@flyezequiel) October 25, 2020
It is still not yet clear what caused the plane to skid off the runway, and the Bahama’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) has opened an investigation.
Early reports suggested that a rear landing gear malfunction upon landing caused the runway excursion, which was later confirmed by American Airlines.
Of the incident, an American Airlines spokesperson said simply: “American Eagle flight 4194, operated by Envoy Air with an ERJ-145, experienced an issue with the rear landing gear upon landing at Freeport (FPO) which caused it to slide off the runway.
“No serious injuries were reported. All 25 passengers and three crew members deplaned safely into the terminal.”
