A Boeing 737 operated by Southwest Airlines slid onto a runway overrun area after landing at Eppley Airfield (OMA) in Omaha, Nebraska, on Friday afternoon. No injuries were reported among the 150 passengers and six crewmembers onboard. Officials at OMA said that “Southwest Airlines Flight 1643 exited the end of Runway 14R following a landing.” The airport closed for several hours after the incident but has since reopened. According to a statement from Southwest, the aircraft “landed safely and slid onto a runway overrun area while taxiing.”
Weather reports indicated that OMA had been experiencing freezing drizzle and occasional snow throughout the afternoon along with low ceilings and temperatures around -5.0C (23F). Southwest Flight 1643 departed from Las Vegas, Nevada’s McCarran International Airport (LAS). This is the second Southwest aircraft to end up in a runway overrun area in the last six weeks. As previously reported on AVweb, Southwest Flight 278 slid off the end of the runway while landing at California’s Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) on Dec. 6.
