Delta JFK-MIA Flight Diverts to Tiny FL Airport

Weather problems in Miami along with air traffic control issues at West Palm Beach forced this morning's run of Delta/Comair 5481 to run low on fuel and land at tiny Witham Field Airport in Stuart, Florida, a facility with no commercial service about 110 miles north of Miami. Once the passengers were on the ground, the plane left without them! Conflicting reasons flew about as to why...first they were told the three runways were too short for their loaded CRJ-900 to takeoff (4652, 5000 and 5826 feet, according to AirNav), but later airport officials said it was simply because they are not authorized to conduct commercial operations. Comair says the 76 passengers were transported to Miami by bus.

I didn't even know that DL used the CR9 for JFK-MIA. I thought it was the MD-88. Anyway, that sucks.

Interesting story. I did not realize they did JFK-MIA with the CR9 but a few LGA freqs with this bird include TPA and PBI. I think a full CR9 is sort of a dog when it comes to short runways but they would need a fairly small fuel load for the flight to MIA, making the aircraft probably not that heavy. I'll bet a full 170/175/190 would have had no problem getting out of that airport to MIA, as they are frequently airbourne in 5000 feet, often less at LGA.

Anyway glad everyone is safe, thanks for posting this Gotham.

LGA777

Interesting article. I've seen unfortunate situations similar to this, and the toughest part is how the passengers react, even though it really is mostly out of the airlines' control.

I don't think leaving without the passengers is beyond the airline's control.

Unfortunately this flight didn't show up on FlightAware, but according to Delta's site the scheduled arrival time for 5481 is 11:55, and they landed at SUA at 12:25. That's only 30 mins longer than expected. Aren't flights supposed to carry an extra 45 mins of fuel?

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Originally Posted by JetBlueAirwaysFan

I don't think leaving without the passengers is beyond the airline's control.

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Why would you assume that? There are WAY TOO MANY variables. If the airline felt that the passengers could have gotten there by bus quicker, or at all, then they made that decision in their best interest. Do you think people in charge were sitting there saying "F 'em! Send 'em a bus!" No way.

Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems that because of the issues at the other airports AND low fuel, they diverted to this small airport. If that small field is your only option when you're running low on fuel with a load of pax onboard, 'tis better to land safely and worry about getting pax to their destination later. Would they have preferred crashing into the Everglades?

I see.