Two airplanes skidded off runways thousands of miles apart within hours of each other, forcing evacuations and both airports to shut down.
On Wednesday morning, a Turkish Airlines commercial jet attempted landing at Nepal's only international airport in Kathmandu but were unable to because of surrounding fog, CNN reported. The Airbus A330 made a second landing attempt 45 minutes later, but the plane skidded off the runway and took a nose dive, witnesses and officials told CNN.
All 224 passengers and crew exited through the aircraft's evacuation slides.
Though no injuries were reported, the Tribhuvan International Airport was forced to shut down because the landed airbus was blocking part of the runway and Nepal does not have the resources to move it, Civil Aviation Authority officials told CNN.
Heavy duty machinery is needed to move the aircraft, but it can't be flown in because the runway is blocked by the airbus. The airport remains closed until further notice.
Over in the U.S., a Delta Airlines flight was also attempting to land at a New York airport during a Thursday blizzard but it skidded off the runway, the Federal Aviation Administration told ABC News. Flight 1086, which originated in Georgia, apparently continued off the runway and crashed through a fence at LaGuardia Airport.
No one was reportedly injured.
"Customers deplaned via aircraft slides and have moved to the terminal on buses," Delta told ABC News. "Delta will work with all authorities and stakeholders to look into what happened in this incident."
The airport was shut down, but it is expected to be reopened later Thursday.
