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Southwest Airlines flight skids off taxiway in Nashville, injuring eight

On Tuesday night, Southwest Airlines Flight 31 from Houston Hobby Airport to Nashville rolled off the taxiway and its landing gear collapsed. 

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(Carson O'Shoney via AP)
Emergency personnel standby a Southwest Airlines plane that rest on the ground after skidding off the runway at Nashville International Airport, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. Officials say three people were injured.
  • By Staff Associated Press

| Nashville, Tenn., and San Antonio, Texas

Officials say a plane has rolled off a runway at Nashville International Airport, injuring eight people.

Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Emily Samuels said in an email Tuesday night that Flight 31 from Houston Hobby Airport to Nashville went off the taxiway around 5:20 p.m. as it approached the arrival gate.

She said the 133 passengers and five crew members evacuated the plane safely and were bused to the airport, where employees were helping them.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the Boeing 737 rolled into grass and got stuck while taxiing to the gate. She said the FAA is investigating.

News media outlets quote fire department spokesman Brian Haas as saying eight people were transported to a hospital, most with minor injuries and one with chest pain.

No information about what caused the aircraft to leave the runway was immediately available.

On Monday, another Southwest Airlines flight made an emergency landing in San Antonio after a part on the wing appeared to be at an "irregular angle."

The airline said flight 987 from Austin to Harlingen landed safely in San Antonio with no injuries to the 109 passengers and five crew members.

Southwest says it has removed the aircraft from service for further inspection.

The problem part is what is called a "flap track canoe fairing," which is a canoe shaped piece attached to the underside of the wing that reduces drag.

Another aircraft was deployed to fly the passengers on to Harlingen about two hours late.

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