Philippine plane veers off runway, passengers evacuated

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine officials say the landing gear of a commercial plane with 180 passengers and six crewmembers aboard veered off the runway after landing in a central province, prompting the pilot to order an evacuation.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines says all passengers and crew of Cebu Pacific airline’s Airbus 320 aircraft are safe following late Friday’s incident, which caused the plane to get stuck at the end of the runway at Iloilo province’s international airport.

More than 40 domestic and regional flights have been cancelled and airport crews were working to remove the stalled aircraft from the runway to allow flights to resume Saturday night.

Cebu Pacific says it’s working with authorities to investigate the incident and hasten the airport’s reopening.