Jet Runs off Quito Runway

A Fokker F-28 passenger jet belonging to the airline Icaro lies on the north edge of Mariscal Sucre airport in Quito, Ecuador, after it ran off the runway during takeoff on Monday, Sept. 22, 2008. No passengers were hurt, according to local media reports. Credit: AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A passenger jet carrying more than 60 people ran off an airstrip in the Ecuadorean capital on Monday, skidding some 400 meters (400 yards) and smashing through a brick wall.

None of the 62 passengers or the crew members aboard the Fokker F-28 operated by Ecuadorean airline Icaro were injured, the carrier and Civil Aviation authorities said.

The flight attempted to take off just after 11:00 a.m. (1615 GMT) from Quito's Mariscal Sucre airport en route to the jungle city of El Coca, when it hit a metal antenna at the end of the runway, Ecuavisa television reported.

Civil Defense chief Gustavo Bravo told Sonorama radio that airport firefighters worked to extinguish the beginnings of a fire and then attended to the passengers and crew.

The airport was shut down for an hour, Civil Aviation deputy director Eduardo Larrea said in a news conference. Several flights were delayed, and two Lacsa flights to Costa Rica were canceled.

The cause of the accident was not known.

El Telegrafo newspaper reported that the yellow jet, painted with the logo of the Guayaquil-based Barcelona soccer team, is used to ferry the squad around the country. But there were no players on board, and it was not clear why it was being used for a regular passenger flight.

Icaro and Civil Aviation did not say how many crew members were on board, but local media reported there were six.

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