Small jet slides off Houston runway, causing delays

HOUSTON — A small jet slid off a runway at a Houston airport on Friday, halting flights for several hours, officials said.

The jet landed at Hobby Airport, a Southwest Airlines hub, just before noon and slid off the runaway and onto a grassy area located between two runway safety areas.

The white and yellow jet had sustained damage to one of its wings after sliding across the grassy area before coming to a stop, video from KTRK-TV showed.

Airport officials tweeted that everyone on board the jet was safe and had deplaned.

Officials said the jet “has been declared fire safe. Our team is working with local and federal partners to safely remove the jet from the grass.”

Airport officials said that the jet had been removed and flights had resumed around 3:30 p.m.

On Friday afternoon, the website FlightAware indicated delays for flights departing the airport were averaging 50 minutes.