The weather worsened prior to the crash of American Airlines Flight 331 inJamaica. Visibility dropped from 1.25 to 0.75 of a mile in intense rainfalljust as the plane was landing. Winds were out of the northwest and increased toover 15 mph. The runway is oriented northwest to southeast, and the planeapparently was landing with a tailwind, which which would have meant anincrease in speed during landing. A combination of poor visibility due tointense rain, a strong tailwind due to the storm and hydroplaning on the wetrunway may have all been factors in the overshoot of the runway.The Associated Press reports the plane skidded across a road at Kingston'sNorman Manley International Airport. The plane came to a rest at the edge ofthe Caribbean Sea. Its nose was less than 10 feet from the water. An upwardslope of the sand was said to have kept the plane from entering the water.
The incident took place at 10:20 p.m. EST Tuesday night. Heavy rain at thattime had dropped visibility to 0.75 of a mile. Drenching rain was falling alonga stationary front draped over the north-central Caribbean Islands. It had beenraining at Kingston since 8 p.m.
Flight 331 was traveling from Miami to Kingston, after originating inWashington, D.C., with 148 passengers and six crew members on board. About 44people were reportedly taken to the hospital. CNN, however, states that numberis 91.
American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith told the Associated Press that there wasdamage to the fuselage, the right engine broke off and the landing gear on theplane's left side had collapsed.
Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski
