Pictures from Crash-Landed American Airlines in Kingston, Jamaica

As seen is this photo, the sea is only meters away from where the aircraft finally landed.  Investigations would have started by now, not just be the America's National Transportation  Safety, but by Jamaica's own Civil Aviation Authority.

Airlines that have scheduled routes to Jamaica have to get approval and continuous certification from the local Jamaican body.

The road behind the aircraft leads the Port Royal, a sleeping fishing village which is only about a mile away.  Port Royal has a long a checkered history and was established before Kingston, the capital of Jamaica.

See picture of Port Royal below.

               Port Royal as it is today

You can learn more about Port Royal, Jamaica by visiting this Link:

Always ready to be called into service, a Jamaica Defense Force soldier guards the remains of the American Airlines Jet that crashed in Kingston on Tuesday night, December 22, 2009.

One other aspect to this accident that is worth mentioning is the fact that there was heavy rain during the night.  Visibility may have been poor and eye-witnesses think that the aircraft landed almost halfway down the strip.  This is not verified. No fire was reported either!   That is a blessing, as this would have proven to be a much more dangerous situation.

Kingston's Norman Manley airport is on a strip of land ( a peninsula ) which joins Port Royal to Kingston.  The airport is not too far above sea level and is susceptible to flooding during storms or hurricanes. Jamaica sits in a direct hurricane zone, and has experienced many hurricanes over the years.

Map of Jamaica.

The impact of the crash-landing was quite heavy as the aircraft is broken into at least 3 parts, not counting at least one wing which is broken, and one engine which is partially severed from the wing of the airplane. 

American Airlines Crash-Lands in Kingston - No Fatalities!

Passenger traveling on this airline must be very thankful that they are alive.
Here are the pictures I just received.

Notice the road in the forefront of the picture. The airport is to the right of that road.

This means that the airline overshot the runway as well as the road running perpendicular

to the runway.  The sea is just metres to the front of the aircraft.

Local newspaper, The Jamaica Observer (click link), carried a full story on this crash, plus a good aerial photograph of the entire aircraft as it lies near the sea.  As news breaks from the 190+ passengers, many of whom were taken to local area hospitals, it paints a mix picture of quick action, surprise, and chaos.