by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:04 AM ET, Fri October 28, 2016
On Thursday, a charter aircraft carrying vice presidential candidate Mike Pence slid off the runway at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, causing a temporary closure of the entire airport.
According to ABCNews.com, the plane was arriving from Fort Dodge, Iowa, at 7:41 p.m. local time when the aircraft made a hard landing. Passengers could reportedly smell burning rubber as the pilot applied the brake before skidding off the runway.
All of the 37 people onboard the Boeing 737 were unharmed during the landing, and they were evacuated from the back of the plane. An ABC reporter on the plane said Pence came back and made sure everyone on the flight was safe.
Pence took to Twitter to thank everyone involved for keeping the passengers safe:
Witness accounts also claim the plane was covered in mud as it had skidded through the grass and came to rest on a perimeter fence at LaGuardia Airport. The fence was built to ensure aircrafts don't crash onto the highway next to the facility.
As a result of the incident, LaGuardia's two runways were closed temporarily, with one reopening 1.5 hours later and the other opening after teams had cleared the aircraft and its debris from the runway.
The National Transportation Safety Board has opened a formal investigation into the incident.
"Governor Pence and everyone on board the plane is fine," a Pence spokesperson said in a statement. "Thankfully some great work by the Port Authority and all the airport authorities, the dedicated flight attendants, there were no injuries. The governor is obviously heading to end the evening and he'll be back out on the campaign trail tomorrow."
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton also voiced her appreciation for Pence's safe landing:
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