Spokane International Airport in Washington momentarily closed after freezing rain and an icy taxiway caused a departing United Airlines flight to slide off a taxiway, striking a snowbank.
The incident occurred at around 6 a.m. Tuesday morning when the Denver-bound United Airlines Flight 812 was moving on the taxiway when its front wheels suddenly slid off and into the snow, according to CBS Denver.
"They went to turn, and it was so slick that the plane started sliding, and it slid probably 200 to 300 feet and ended up crossing the ditch where the safety lights were," a passenger said.
The incident caused the airport to suspend all flight operations for about two hours while it worked to ensure adequate braking conditions on all of its taxis and runways, according to the Associated Press.
In the meantime, none of the 166 passengers were injured and were escorted off the plane through a rear door of the aircraft.
The Boeing 737, which didn't sustain any damages during the incident, remained off the runway after evacuations, according to United Press International.
Several dozen flights were delayed or canceled due to the two-hour closure.
