Plane slides off runway at DeKalb-Peachtree

There were no injuries

By JEFFRY SCOTT

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 09/14/07

The pilot of a twin-engine jet with five passengers and crew apparently misjudged the landing approach in a driving rainstorm about 5 Friday afternoon and slid off the end of the runway at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport.

"Fortunately, there were no injuries and no fire," said Capt. Eric Jackson of the DeKalb County Fire Department.

A twin-engine jet slid off the end of the runway at Dekalb-Peachtree Airport Friday afternoon. According to the automated weather station at the airport, the visibility at 4 was 1 and 3/4 miles with rain and mist but visibility had dropped to 1/2 mile with fog just 10-minutes prior to that.

Brant Sanderlin/AJC

(ENLARGE)

A twin-engine jet slid off the end of the runway at Dekalb-Peachtree Airport Friday afternoon. It resulted in the temporary closure of one of the airport's two parallel runways.

However, the plane leaked fuel, and a private company was brought in to clean up the spill, said Acting Assistant Chief Robert Summers.

The jet slid through a barrier at the end of the runway at the Dresden Drive end of the airport. "It was going pretty fast, we're lucky it didn't go into the road," said Jackson. The plane came to rest in a grass beside the concrete strip.

The plane, a model that can have up to 14 seats, carried a crew of two, plus three passengers. Their identities were not released.

The plane is registered to Hawk Flight Inc., a charter Learjet business in Wayne, Pennsylvania.

The accident caused one of the airport's four runways to be closed temporarily.

Nika Key, 28, of Atlanta, was one of about 30 people scheduled to jet to Harrah's in New Orleans for the weekend. "It might leave by 10 ," Key said. She and others seemed to be taking the delay in stride. "It gives us less time to gamble," Key said. "It might be a good thing for us to go later."

Staff Writers Mike Knobler and Ralph Ellis contributed to this report