Categories: World

Passenger jet severely damaged after hitting runway equipment at Belgrade’s Tesla Airport

close Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for February 19

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on Foxnews.com.

A passenger jet with 106 people on board returned safely to the Belgrade airport after it hit runway equipment and sustained severe damage shortly after takeoff from the Serbian capital, media and airline blogs reported Monday. There were no injuries.

The Embraer E-195 was on route to Düsseldorf in Germany on Sunday afternoon. The aircraft belongs to Greek charter company Marathon Airlines, which is currently operating several aircraft on behalf of Serbian national carrier, AirSerbia, on long-term basis.

Live tracker Flightradar24 said the flight JU324 lined up at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport on one of the intersecting taxiways more than halfway down the runway, indicating it did not have enough distance for a safe takeoff.

SCANDINAVIAN AIRLINES PLANE HITS FENCE AT AIRPORT IN NORWEGIAN CAPITAL

During its departure, the aircraft’s left side was badly damaged when it struck the opposing runway’s instrument landing system array, located not far from a busy highway.

The Serbian flag is photographed in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sept. 15, 2019. (Photo by Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Video footage and photos of the damaged aircraft show a large gaping hole and tear on the fuselage at the base of the left wing. The tail section was also damaged. Firefighters sprayed the fuselage with foam as fuel appeared to be leaking from the damaged aircraft.

After struggling to gain height, the aircraft shook as it entered a holding pattern for about an hour before returning to land safely at the Belgrade airport, Serbian media said, quoting passengers. The passengers were escorted off the aircraft. They were told by AirSerbia that the flight returned because of technical reasons and that their lives were never in danger.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The airport was closed for a while on Sunday and incoming planes were diverted to other airports.

Share

Recent Posts

Scientists spot skyscraper-sized asteroid racing through solar system

Astronomers have reportedly discovered a skyscraper-sized asteroid moving through our solar system at a near…

11 hours ago

Fox News AI Newsletter: Conservative activist reaches ‘breaking point’ with Google

IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER: - Robby Starbuck on why he sued Google: 'Outrageously false’ information through…

14 hours ago

Hackers steal medical records and financial data from 1.2M patients in massive healthcare breach

More than 1 million patients have been affected by a data breach involving SimonMed Imaging,…

14 hours ago

Spotify gives parents new power to control what their kids hear on streaming platform

Spotify is rolling out a major update for parents who want more control over what…

17 hours ago

From friendly text to financial trap: the new scam trend

It starts with something small, a text that feels oddly familiar. Maybe it says, "Hey,…

1 day ago

Living in giant moon glass spheres could be our future

One day, we might see glowing cities of glass scattered across the Moon's surface, shining…

2 days ago