A Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by Spanish airline Air Europa overran a runway at Lanzarote Airport (Arrecife) in the Canary Islands. The incident occurred early this morning, October 31, 2008. No one was injured, and there were no immediate reports of significant damage to the aircraft.The aircraft, operating as Flight UX196 (a charter for Thomas Cook), was arriving at Lanzarote after a flight from Glasgow, Scotland, with 74 passengers and six crew members on board. Several news reports quoted an Air Europa spokesperson who said that the incident was the result of a "destabilized approach." No further details were given, and there have been no official statements by Spanish aviation officials about the incident.
News photos on the Spanish website 20minutos.es and a video of the scene on BBC News show that the aircraft traveled beyond the end of the runway on which it had just landed, but came to a stop inside the airport perimeter fence. There was no emergency evacuation. Passengers left the aircraft via stairs and were transferred to the terminal by bus.
The incident caused the Lanzarote Airport to be closed for several hours, and several arriving aircraft were diverted to other airports in the Canary islands. According to news reports, the incident aircraft was towed away, and the airport has reopened.
[Photo Source]
