Dramatic video captured a plane with 185 people onboard skidding across an icy runway and onto muddy grass before veering back on track.
The Avion Express Airbus A320-200 was landing at Vilnius Airport in Lithuania after a flight from Italy on Saturday when it performed what is known as a “runway excursion,” The Aviation Herald reported.
Flight X9-8242, carrying 179 passengers and six crew members, veered off the runway onto soft ground, skidding across a turnoff. It finally returned to the runway centerline, where it was seen covered in mud.
The crazy footage of the incident was shared on X by @AFlyGuyTravels, which posts content about the aviation industry. VASAviation also posted the exchange between the air-traffic controller and the pilot.
“I saw you veer off the runway,” the controller tells him in Lithuanian.
“Really, indeed,” the pilot replies, somewhat sarcastically, after not first advising the tower about the mishap.
No one was injured during the incident and the plane proceeded to the parking area, where the passengers disembarked.
The airport was forced to suspend all operations for several hours, according to reports.
