Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700, performing flight 278 with 5 crew and 112 passengers onboard, skidded off of the runway at Hollywood Burbank Airport due to wet conditions made for a rougher landing. The incident occurred during heavy rain, but fortunately, none of the people on board was injured.
The aircraft was performing a flight from Oakland landed at runway 8, but due to heavy rain ended up in an area called the Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS). The airplane suffered severe damages, but all the passengers were in good health without injuries.
The incident saw Burbank airport closed for around 3 hours while emergency services responded to the incident.
But why such serious accident had no injuries. The potential severity was evident in March 2000 on the same runway. Southwest Airlines flight 1455 plane descended at a speed of 200 miles per hour. Forty-three people were hurt when the jet crashed through the fence and into traffic lanes on Hollywood Way.
Similar incidents spurred the FAA to seek solutions. One result was a runway cushion, the EMAS or EMASMAX, developed by Safran Aerosystems. Long pad of manufactured tiles was installed at the end of the runway. They are composed of layers of recycled glass and porous concrete. The tires of an aircraft sink in the crushable material, reducing its speed and preventing crashing into the fence.
Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range twinjet narrow-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from the 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of thirteen passenger models with capacities from 85 to 215 passengers.
