Airplane slides off Spokane Airport runway

Spokane International Airport shut down for nearly three hours Tuesday morning after icy conditions caused a United Airlines 737 to slide off a taxiway.

Larry Krauter, airport CEO, confirmed 166 passengers were aboard the plane and no injuries were reported.

Krauter said the plane had been preparing to depart for Denver when the incident occurred. The passengers were removed from the plane shortly after it slid off the taxiway.

The flight was to have a short delay while the runway was cleared, and the pilot was attempting to reach a holding bay alongside the taxiway when the plane slid.

"We were working at that time to try and improve the friction on the runway because of the freezing rain," Krauter said.

He said the holding bay has a slight grade to help drain moisture away from the airfield.

"You take the icy conditions, the aircraft weight and the motion and that was just enough to take them gently into the area just off the edge of the pavement," Krauter said.

The plane slid off the taxiway just prior to 6 a.m., and Krauter said officials made the decision to cease operations at the airport due to the icy conditions. Flights resumed after 8:45 a.m., but he said many passengers who had connecting flights missed those flights because most morning flights leave between 6 and 9 a.m.

United flew in another plane Tuesday afternoon for the passengers on the flight that slid, which Krauter said was a great response. He said while people were inconvenienced, it was good that nobody was hurt.

As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, the plane was still off the taxiway as a recovery team assessed the aircraft and prepared to remove it.