A Boeing 737 jet has skidded and crashed off a runway in a major incident at an airport in Florida.

In a miracle rescue, it has been reported all 136 passengers and seven crew on board the aircraft survived the crash.
The incident, which occured at about 9.40pm on Friday, saw the Boeing aircraft skid in to the St Johns River in Jacksonville in the north east of the state.

There were two “very minor” injuries, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane was operated by Miami Air International which is not a major US airline.

It is believed the 737 had been chartered by the Department of Defence in the US and was landing after a flight from the naval bases at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba.

A spokesman for Naval Air Station Jacksonville told Reuters that no fatalities had been reported. The flight had arrived from Naval Station Guantánamo Bay and went into the river at the end of the runway at about 9:40pm Friday local time, 11.40am Saturday AEST.

The mayor of Jacksonville said on Twitter that everyone on board the flight was “alive and accounted for” but that crews were working to control jet fuel on the water.

Cheryl Bormann, who was reportedly on the flight, told CNN host Don Lemon that the plane landed during a thunderstorm and then “bounced.”

“It was terrifying,” she said.

“But everybody we pretty calm…everybody helped everybody else.”

It is understood Ms Bormann and the other passengers got in to rafts, however weren’t sure if they’d landed in a river or an ocean.

There are unconfirmed reports several pets crated in the luggage section of the plane didn’t survive the crash.

President Donald Trump called to offer help as the situation was developing, the mayor said.

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing tweeted they were “aware of an incident in Jacksonville and are gathering information”.

While the plane is a 737 it is not a 737 Max jet which has been grounded following two crashes.

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