Presidential races

Pence’s plane skids off runway in New York

by Paulina Firozi

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s plane slid off the runway at LaGuardia airport in New York on Thursday night, though there were no reported injuries, according to the Associated Press.

The GOP vice presidential nominee was on the plane, but was not injured, according to reporters on the plane who tweeted that emergency crews were on the scene. There was no fire on the plane, and all the passengers have now been evacuated. 

Pence tweeted that he was “thankful” that everyone on the plane was safe, and suggested he would continue his campaign events as planned on Friday. He is scheduled to appear at a rally in Bensalem, Pa., on Friday afternoon.

The plane “overshot” the runway while landing, according to a statement by the Port Authority.

Pence stood up and checked to make sure everyone on the plane was OK, according to an NBC reporter on the plane. Video later showed Pence walking around outside the aircraft, talking to first responders as rain poured down.

According to photos from the scene, the concrete on the runway was badly damaged after the landing.

The incident forced LaGuardia to temporarily halt flights, according to an alert put out by the city. A later alert just before 9:15 p.m. said that the airport had reopened with “limited air traffic.”

Following an earlier incident, #LaGuardia Airport has reopened to limited air traffic. Expect delays. Check with airline for additional info

— NYCEM – Notify NYC (@NotifyNYC) October 28, 2016 >

NBC reported that Donald Trump called his running mate from his motorcade in Ohio and a spokeswoman said he was glad everyone was safe. 

At his Ohio rally that began shortly after the accident, Trump told the crowd that he had spoken Pence, “and he’s OK.” 

“The plane skidded off the runway and was pretty close to grave, grave danger, but I just spoke to Mike Pence and he’s fine he got out,” Trump said. “Everybody’s fine, everybody’s fine, but what a great decision it was to get Mike Pence, what a great guy, what a great job he’s doing.”

Pence had two campaign rallies earlier Thursday in Nebraska and Iowa.

Pence canceled a fundraiser that was planned in New York City on Thursday night, according to reports.

Hillary Clinton tweeted on Thursday night that she was “glad to hear” Pence was safe.

– Updated: 9:45 p.m.