JetBlue Flight Skids Off Logan Airport Runway While Landing

A JetBlue flight flying from Savannah Georgia to Suffolk County, Massachusetts, on Monday, skidded off the icy tarmac at the Logan International Airport while landing.

The landing wheels of JetBlue flight 50 hit a patch of ice at around 7: 15 p.m. EST on the tarmac and soon the flight was doing donuts on the ground. After spinning a complete 180 degrees, the flight came to a stop facing the opposite side.

"We were straight and all of a sudden we started fishtailing. And yeah it started getting rough," Steve Chisholm, of South Carolina, who was traveling to Boston on Christmas Day, told ABC affiliate WCVB.

Chisholm added the accident was not the fault of the pilot. “Pilot did a fantastic job. Everybody was applauding him at the end," he said.

The pilot assured the Air Traffic Control that he had the situation under control immediately after the shaky landing. "Everything’s fine. We just skidded on the ice,” the pilot responded, when asked whether emergency services would be required, ABC News reported. "We just need a tow."

Terri Given, a passenger from Savannah said: “Once I realized we were going off the runway, I was like, 'uh-oh.' It was like you were going four-wheeling. They said the wind coming in was really bad, then he landed, he thought he was OK, and hit some ice."

"Coming down the runway and all of a sudden we started sliding and spinning and spinning and spinning. And ended up in a snowbank," said Jerry Hokansan, a passenger from Martha's Vineyard.

The plane finally came to a stop between two runways. None of the passengers were hurt. Firefighters rushed to the scene of the incident to safely guide the passengers off the plane. They were taken back to the terminal in an airport bus.

JetBlue released the following statement regarding the incident:

The Logan International Airport was temporarily closed due to extreme weather conditions on Christmas morning. Just before 10:30 a.m. EST, the airport announced they were halting landings and departures were halted due to quick change in temperature.

"As a precaution, we are not departing or landing aircraft at the moment," airport officials said in a statement. Crews worked to clear the runway of snow and many flights were delayed. Normal operations resumed after 11:30 a.m. EST.

The airport was not the only area affected by heavy snowfall on Christmas. Massachusetts Department of Transportation said it had nearly 2,000 crews out plowing snow. "We really advise stay in as much as you can and if you have to go out, take it slow and leave lots of space," said Jonathan Gulliver, the department's highway administrator, CBS News reported.

Although the precipitation was supposed to wrap up around noon, temperature continued to drop as National Weather Service warned of a "flash freeze" in the greater Boston area. Due to low visibility on the roads, the speed limit on the Massachusetts Turnpike was reduced to 40 mph from the New York border to Boston.