At least 20 people suffered minor injuries when a WINDJET A319 suffered a runway excursion last evening in Palermo, Italy. Flight 243 was on Domestic Service from Rome to Palermo, with 123 passengers and 6 crew members onboard. The A319 departed Rome at 7:08pm and approached Palermo around 8:00pm in heavy thunderstorms and with reports on windshear. The aircraft touched down at 8:13pm and veered off the runway, before coming to a stop on soft ground with both main gear struts collapsed. The Captain then ordered an evacuation via the slides. According to media reports, 20 people were transported to hospital for treatment, however all injuries were said to be minor."After the off-runway landing there were scenes of panic and screaming on board. The overhead lockers opened and lots of stuff fell out. I was hit in the head," said 1 passenger in a media interview."I saw the cowlings of the right-hand engine open," he added. "After violently impacting the ground the oxygen masks deployed. Then they opened the chutes. Before we could get out of the aircraft several passengers blocked the exits for quite a few minutes because they wouldn't leave their hand baggage behind. But the crew prevailed upon them to deplane without their wheelie-bags." The A319 suffered substantial damages in the incident and will most likely need to be written off. According to Windjet, which was operating the flight as code share with MERIDIANA, the aircraft encountered windshear which caused it to veer off the runway. The Italian ANSV has opened an investigation into the accident. Due to damage to the runway, the Palermo Airport had to shut down and will not re-open until 9:00pm tonight.
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