Delta plane slides off runway at Blue Grass Airport

A Delta passenger plane ran off the runway Saturday afternoon at Blue Grass Airport following heavy rain.

The CRJ-900 plane flying from Atlanta to Lexington slid off the runway at 1:30 p.m.

None of the 73 passengers and four crew members were injured, Delta's subsidiary, Endeavor Air, said in a statement.

Passengers were transported via shuttle to the airport terminal and were being reunited with their luggage Saturday afternoon, said Amy Caudill, marketing and community relations director for Blue Grass Airport.

One Twitter user said the plane skidded off the runway into a ditch, but "the pilot did a great job keeping us from sliding into the oncoming trees/intersection."

The aircraft being stuck in the grass forced cancellations for departing flights. According to the airport's flight status website, today's American Airlines flights to Philadelphia, Dallas/Fort Worth and Charlotte were canceled, as of 3 p.m. Other flights have been delayed.

WKYT meteorologist Chris Bailey said the airport reported torrential rains around the time the plane reportedly skidded. More than one inch of water fell in under an hour, he said.

Endeavor Air released a statement Saturday afternoon, saying, “Upon landing in Lexington, KY., Endeavor Air flight 3359 from Atlanta, operating as Delta Connection, turned off the active runway and came to a stop in the grassy area between taxiways A2 and A1. Endeavor crew members made the decision to deplane customers through the main cabin door into the grass where buses took all on board to the terminal. We apologize to our customers impacted by this incident.”

This story was originally published May 19, 2018 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Delta plane slides off runway at Blue Grass Airport."