WestJet 737 Evacuated in St. Maarten

All 164 occupants safe following incident at Princess Juliana International Airport.

Matt Ryan

Monday, September 08, 2025 at 10:59 AM ET

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Matt Ryan

WestJet 737 on final to St. Maarten [Credit: Thiago B Trevisan/Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

A WestJet Boeing 737-800 made a hard landing at Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) in St. Maarten, causing its right landing gear to collapse and damaging a wingtip.
All 164 passengers and crew were safely evacuated via emergency slides, with no serious injuries reported, though three individuals underwent medical evaluation.
The incident temporarily closed the airport, and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is leading the investigation into the cause of the hard landing.

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A WestJet Boeing 737-800 made a hard landing leading to a full evacuation of passengers and crew at Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) in St.Maarten on Sunday following a flight from Toronto. The right landing gear collapsed, damaging the wingtip. Foam was deployed as a precaution. The aircraft’s 164 occupants exited using emergency slides.

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WestJet said in a statement that the airline is cooperating with local authorities. All crew members and passengers were accounted for and there were no resulting injuries, although three individuals were taken for medical evaluations. Video shows the jet bouncing on the runway before skidding to a stop, with light smoke and dust trailing from the gear.

BREAKING: CHAOS IN THE CARIBBEAN! WestJet Boeing 737 Crash-Lands at St. Maarten!
Heart-pounding moments just minutes ago at St. Maarten as WestJet Flight WS2276, a Boeing 737-8 (C-GWSR), endured a catastrophic hard landing from Toronto (YYZ). The impact was so severe it caused… pic.twitter.com/VcQghhVEzm
— aircraftmaintenancengineer (@airmainengineer) September 7, 2025

Princess Juliana International Airport, known for its low approaches over Maho Beach, closed temporarily following the incident. Officials provided hotel, food and transport vouchers to passengers. The airport said it will reopen at noon on Monday. The cause of the hard landing has not yet been determined, although the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) announced today that it is sending a team to lead investigations.