Chinese plane that overshot at Philippine airport pulled from mud

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A Chinese plane that slid off the runway at Manila airport was removed from the muddy spot where it had been stuck for more than a day, officials said, allowing normal operations to resume on Saturday.

The Xiamen Airlines flight MF8667 from Xiamen in China landed on its second attempt at the Manila International Airport before skidding onto the grass, ripping off its left engine and blocking the runway late Thursday evening.

The 157 passengers and eight crew members aboard were able to disembark without suffering any major injuries.

A torn-off engine pod from the Xiamen Air flight MF8667 is seen after the aircraft slid off the runway while attempting to land in bad weather at Manila international airport, August 17, 2018. /VCG Photo

It took more than 24 hours for authorities to remove the plane from the soggy grassy area where it got stuck, causing the closure of the runway and the disruption of the operation of the Philippines' main airport.

Thousands of passengers were stranded in various airports across the country following the cancellation and delay of more than 130 flights in all four terminals on Friday. Several incoming flights were also diverted to Clark airport, north of Manila, and Cebu in the central Philippines.

Stranded passengers wait for their flights to resume at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, August 17, 2018. /VCG Photo

By noon on Saturday, flights had resumed their normal schedule, with some disgruntled passengers taking to social media to complain about the speed of the recovery operation.

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines spokesman Eric Apolonio said investigators had recovered the plane's black box and flight data recorder and would be summoning the pilots next week to find the cause of the mishap.

(Top image: Workers try to remove a Xiamen Air's Boeing 737-800 plane from the tarmac after it skidded off the runway at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, August 17, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP ,Xinhua News Agency