A Delta Air Lines plane carrying dozens of passengers skidded off a snowy runway at Des Moines International Airport late Saturday night, forcing a full shutdown of the airport as a powerful winter storm tore through the Midwest.
The aircraft, arriving from Detroit, slid while attempting to land around 10 p.m. local time. Airport officials said emergency crews rushed to the scene, but miraculously, no one was hurt.
“All passengers exited safely and were taken back to the terminal,” a Delta spokesperson told the Des Moines Register, adding that “safety remains our top priority.”
The Boeing jet came to rest partially off the tarmac, where it remained overnight awaiting inspection by the National Transportation Safety Board. The airport was closed through the night and reopened just before noon Sunday after crews cleared the runway and confirmed the area was safe.
The incident came amid a massive post-Thanksgiving storm system stretching from the Great Plains to the Great Lakes, snarling travel and dumping heavy snow across several states.
The National Weather Service warned that up to a foot of snow could fall in parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan by Sunday night — and cautioned that “another potential storm will follow quickly for New England and the Mid-Atlantic.”
In Chicago, more than 200 flights were canceled at O’Hare International Airport by Sunday morning as blizzard conditions worsened. Travelers reported long lines and sudden delays as de-icing operations struggled to keep up with the heavy snow.
Meanwhile, roughly 6,000 homes and businesses in Wisconsin lost power overnight, according to AP News, as utility crews battled fierce winds to restore service.
The storm hit just as millions of Americans were returning home from the Thanksgiving holiday. The AAA estimated that nearly 82 million people would travel this weekend — the highest number since before the pandemic in 2019.
“This is one of the busiest travel weekends of the year, and storms like this remind us how quickly conditions can change,” said travel analyst Linda Martinez. “We’re seeing the full impact of winter on a country that’s still moving at holiday speed.”
Delta and Des Moines officials said the runway incident remains under investigation, but both credited emergency crews with preventing what could have been a serious disaster.
For now, the snow keeps falling — and the Midwest braces for round two.
Source: AP News, Des Moines Register, National Weather Service
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