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LONDON - British Airways blamed poor lighting at Miami airport for a safety scare involving a jumbo jet carrying Prime Minister Tony Blair and his family.
There were 343 passengers and crew aboard the Boeing 747 which missed a runway exit on arrival from London about 6:15pm (2315 GMT) on Tuesday, knocking over two runway lights and prompting police and emergency vehicles to rush to the scene.
"The plane overshot the runway by a little bit. There was no damage to the plane and no injuries to the passengers," Miami airport spokesman Marc Henderson said. "The plane did not go into the grass but they were off the end of the runway."
A spokesman for Blair said: "There was a minor incident. The prime minister is absolutely fine. They are getting on with their holiday now."
A BA spokesman said the pilot landed exactly as he should have done but the turn-off from the runway was not well lit.
"Apparently they're doing some resurfacing work and relighting, so the lighting was poor," said BA spokesman John Lampl.
Both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the US National Transportation Safety Board said they were investigating.
FAA spokesman Les Dorr said standard taxiway lighting was operational at the time of the incident.
"We'll be looking at the markings, the taxiway lighting and all other aspects of the incident to see if there are any safety issues that need to be addressed," he said.
Ted Lopatkiewicz, a safety board spokesman, said in a statement the plane knocked down two approach lights, each about 12 inches high, but the incident caused no damage to the aircraft which left on its scheduled return flight to London.
Passengers told local media that police and emergency vehicles surrounded the plane.
"How would you feel if you saw eight police cars rolling up? You expect the worst," one passenger told Miami television station WSVN.
"It was really calm," said another. "We're very English."
The Miami Herald newspaper reported Blair and his immediate family were flying first class and were to vacation in the Miami area. It said they would stay at the home of former member of the Bee Gees, Robin Gibb.
- REUTERS
