NTSB opens investigation into plane veering off runway, hitting sign at Dayton International Airport

VANDALIA — “Over in a matter of seconds;” that’s how one passenger on United Flight 3818 described an incident at Dayton International Airport when the plane veered off the runway Wednesday night.

Crews were called out to the airport just after 7 p.m. Wednesday on reports of a airplane crash.

A statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the the United flight, operated by Air Wisconsin, “slid off the runway after landing at Dayton International Airport around 7:10 p.m.”

According to FlightAware, United Flight 3818 took off from Washington Dulles International Airport at 5:41 p.m. and landed at Dayton International at 7:10 p.m.

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Gil Turner, City of Dayton Aviation Director, provided more details into the incident Thursday. He said when the plane went off the runway, it hit one of the taxiway signs and lighting signs.

“The left wing tip actually hit one of the signs and caused minor damage to the left wing of the aircraft,” Turner said.

Turner also said the plane had not slowed down the taxiing speed when it went off the runway. He stated the plane was still at landing speed.

Mike Grace, a retired commercial pilot, told News Center 7 that in situations like this, “you have to be at an appropriate speed for the weight of the aircraft.” He said the landing conditions on the runway are given to help give pilots the right speed to land at.

News Center 7 spoke with a passenger of Flight 3818 and he described the landing as “smooth.”

“It was a pretty smooth landing, but the brakes really grabbed,” the passenger, who only went by John, said.

John said as soon as the plane touched down, it “skidded sideways.”

“Yeah, you don’t see the grass generally from the windows,” John said. “But yeah, we were fine. It was over before anybody said anything.”

Right after the incident, Turner said Air Traffic Control sent the crash and rescue team from the airport’s fire department to the jet. He said the team is required by the FAA to respond in within three minutes and they met that requirement Wednesday night.

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All passengers were bused from the plane to the terminal and no injuries were reported.

News Center 7 reached out to both United Airlines and Air Wisconsin Thursday morning about the incident. A spokesperson for United Airlines referred us to Air Wisconsin, who’s response we’re still waiting on.

In a statement to News Center 7, a spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the agency opened an investigation into the incident.

“The excursion did not result in serious injuries or substantial damage to the airplane, so it didn’t meet the NTSB’s definition of an aircraft accident. The NTSB does occasionally investigate aviation incidents to determine if there are any safety issues that need to be addressed,” the spokesperson said.

The NTSB will lead the investigation, with the assistance of the FAA.

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