Lithuanian Vilnius International Airport (VNO) was forced to stop all incoming and outgoing flights on Saturday afternoon after an Avion Express Airbus A320-232 plane (LY-NVL) skidded off the runway 19 during landing.
Surprisingly the aircraft with 179 passengers and six crew members first landed on the runway 19, then skidded onto the grass and then returned to the runway.
As the plane landed on the grass, mud began to spray on the windows,and the fuselage was soiled as seen in the pictures.
The incident with the Avion Express plane took place at 2:20 p.m. All passengers are safe, airport officials said, but the runway is closed to all flights until 5:40 p.m. Incoming flights are diverted to Kaunas and Palanga airports.
According to preliminary data, there were 179 passengers and six crew members in that charter flight from Milan. The flight crew informed the airport management that no one was injured and the plane proceeded to the parking area where the passengers disembarked.
A passenger reported that the plane first landed on the runway, then skidded onto the grass and then returned to the runway. As the plane landed on the grass, mud began to spray on the windows, and nothing could be seen through them.
"Inspections are currently underway to assess the impact of the incident on the runway equipment and the airport was closed to all flights until 17:40," said Tadas Vasiliąskis, representative of Lithuanian airports.
