Cuenca airport remains closed following Thursday accident; could reopen Tuesday

Cuenca’s Mariscal La Mar Airport remains closed following a Thursday morning accident in which a Tame Airline flight from Quito skidded off the runway. Officials said Friday that the airport was expected to reopen Tuesday but added later that the reopening could not occur until the Embraer 190 aircraft was removed from the south end of the runway.

Tame jet in the grass of the Cuenca airport. (Mercurio)

There were no serious injuries from the accident, and 87 passengers and six crew members exited the aircraft on emergency slides.

An investigation continues into the cause of the mishap but airport officials noted that the the aircraft appeared to lose traction after it touched down. The runway was wet at the time of the landing, following a heavy rainstorm, and ground crew said the jet appeared to hydro-plane on the wet runway surface.

Passengers credited the pilot with averting a worse accident by guiding the jet to the grassy area at the end of the runway. The plane came to rest feet way from an airport property wall.

Not only is the Tame jet out of service following the incident, but a Lan Ecuador aircraft is stranded at the loading gate until the airport reopens.