Passengers aboard Flight 523 said they had begun to applaud the pilot’s landing in the South American country when suddenly things went wrong.
The Boeing 737-800 apparently overshot the 7,400-foot (2,200-meter) runway at Cheddi Jagan International Airport and barely missed a 200-foot (60-meter) ravine that could have resulted in dozens of fatalities, said President Bharrat Jagdeo, who came to the crash site before dawn.
“We are very, very grateful that more people were not injured,” he said.
About 100 people received medical attention, with four hospitalized for serious injuries, said Devant Maharaj, transportation minister in Trinidad, where Caribbean Airlines is based.
Geeta Ramsingh, 41, of Philadelphia, who said passengers had just started to applaud the touchdown “when it turned to screams,” she said. She hopped onto the wing and then onto the dirt road outside the runway fence, apparently suffering only bruised knees.
