Four passengers and a pilot were injured Monday when a United Express regional airplane slid off a runway during a snowstorm in northern Maine.
According to The Associated Press, United Express Flight 4933 took off from Newark Liberty International Airport en route to Presque Isle Regional Airport and was scheduled to land at the Maine airport at 11:30 a.m. local time.
When the pilot tried to land the plane, low visibility caused him to abandon the first attempt and requested the airport turn on its runway lights. The Embraer 145 and its 28 passengers successfully touched down the second time, but the plane slid to the right off the runway.
The accident left five people with minor injuries and they were removed from the plane and transported to the nearby Northern Light A.R. Gould Hospital. The pilot and the four passengers have since been treated and released.
As for the plane, part of its landing gear was torn away and the nose cone was damaged. The aircraft was left where it came to rest until Federal Aviation Administration representatives arrive and assess the situation.
Presque Isle Regional Airport was temporarily closed to flights as a result of the accident.
