Xian MA-60 at Tianshui Maijishan Airport

Plane from China’s Joyair veers off runway upon landing; 5 people sustain minor injuries

BEIJING — A plane operated by Chinese domestic carrier Joyair veered off a runway upon landing in the southeastern city of Fuzhou on Sunday, and five people suffered minor injuries, the airline said.

Joyair said it was investigating the cause of the accident and apologized to the 45 passengers and seven crew members on board, according to a statement posted on its website.

The plane that swerved off the runway was the Modern Ark 60, a turboprop made by China’s state-owned Xi’an Aircraft Industrial Corp.

Photos posted on China’s social media showed the aircraft resting on the grass with its left wing clipped and smoke coming out of the fuselage.

There have been at least four incidents since 2013 in which the same model aircraft had landing issues, including overrunning an airstrip, landing hard and a mechanical failure on the landing gear.

The Sunday flight took off from the eastern Chinese city of Yiwu. Joyair generally serves smaller Chinese cities.

The hotline for Fuzhou Changle International Airport said the airfield was temporarily closed.






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