CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- A Southwest Airlines jet slid off the runway during a heavy snowstorm at Chicago's Midway Airport and crashed into two vehicles in a nearby intersection, killing a young boy, on Thursday night.Flight 1248, which was arriving from Baltimore, Maryland, slid through a fence separating the runway from the intersection, said Wendy Abrams, a spokeswoman for Chicago's Department of Aviation. The boy, who was about 8, was with his two younger brothers -- including an infant -- and his parents, said Deborah Song, a spokeswoman for Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oaklawn, where the family was transported.The mother and father were in serious condition, Song said, and the middle son, about 3 years old, was in fair condition. There was no information on the infant."We're not sure if they came from one vehicle or multiple vehicles that were struck," she said. Chicago Fire Department Commissioner Cortez Trotter said he hadn't spoken to hospital officials, but to his knowledge, there were 12 people taken to area hospitals. ( Watch as Trotter explains the injuries -- 2:29)The plane struck two cars, Trotter said. One was wedged under a wing, and the other was crumpled at the nose of the plane, he said.Five occupants of one of the cars were in serious condition -- one of those critical -- and four in another car were in serious but stable condition, he said. Also, three people on the plane suffered minor injuries and were taken to the hospital.There was no definitive cause given for the accident, but Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown said the plane's nose gear collapsed. ( Watch footage from the scene -- 1:33)Amanda Doherty lives near the airport and said she went to the scene shortly after the crash and saw a car pinned under the airplane with its headlights still on. ( Watch witness account -- :27)A bartender at a pub down the street from the accident said he heard two loud booms when the plane crashed into the intersection. "We thought it was an automobile accident and we looked out the window and we saw the tail section of a Southwest airliner laying across the street, on Central Avenue," said Tom Fitzgerald, adding that he saw passengers exiting the rear of the plane. "People were running and ambulances were coming down the street."The Boeing 737 was carrying 98 passengers and five crew members. It left Baltimore-Washington International Airport about 5 p.m. ET and landed shortly after 8 p.m. ET. Stanley Den, who was on the plane, said he noticed the plane wasn't slowing down during the landing. "I couldn't really tell if we were on the runway or the grass. It was really bumpy," Den said. "We were kind of going for a while until the impact when we hit, maybe I guess, a barrier fence, went through that and into the middle of the street with cars and stuff riding past us." It had been snowing all day in Chicago and visibility was poor at the time of the landing. The National Weather Service had issued a heavy snow warning in the city and surrounding area, saying that 6 to 9 inches of new snow could accumulate before midnight -- at a rate of 2 inches per hour.There were approximately 8 inches of snow on the ground by early evening, and winds were blowing at between 13 mph and 18 mph.The pilot of the plane was a 10-year Southwest veteran, and the first officer had been with the company more than 2 years, said Southwest CEO Gary Kelly. To his knowledge, the plane had been properly cleared to land on the 6,500-foot runway, he said. Video from the scene showed at least 10 ambulances at the scene and dozens of fire trucks and other emergency vehicles converging on the intersection. The plane's fuselage was bent and its nose was on the ground.Midway, which lies in a dense residential and commercial district of the city, west of downtown, was closed almost immediately and was not set to reopen until early Friday morning, the FAA said.The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating the crash. Commissioner Trotter said the plane would remain in the intersection until the NTSB finished its investigation.
Originally posted by Chairboy If it ain't Boeing, I ain't... wait... what are we supposed to say in this situation? I misplaced my script.
