"KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - An American Airlines flight carrying 154 people skidded across a Jamaican runway in heavy rain, bouncing across the tarmac and injuring more than 40 people before it stopped just short of the Caribbean Sea, officials and witnesses said. Panicked passengers screamed and baggage burst from overhead bins as Flight 331 from Miami careened down the runway in the capital, Kingston, on Tuesday night, one passenger said. The impact cracked open the fuselage, crushed the left landing gear and separated both engines from the Boeing 737-800, airline spokesman Tim Smith said." - bob

Looks pretty bad. I wonder why it broke up? - Paul Buchheit

It was one hell of a bumpy ride from the looks of it, Paul. - Scoble, Alex Scoble

That's one old 737. That's why. - Roberto Bonini

It has winglets, doesn't seem all that old to me. Planes just aren't designed to land like that one did. - Scoble, Alex Scoble

I heard on CNN that the passengers were clapping at the smooth landing before the accident. This runway has poor drainage, so the plane's brakes may have been ineffective. The bouncing and damage may have happened after it left the tarmac. I don't know whether the report I heard or this article (citing turbulence) is accurate. Wait for RISKS Digest. - Bruce Lewis

And the break pattern seems consistent with the nose, fuselang and tail being separate components - Deepak Singh

Roberto: The 737-800 has only been around since 1997, so the plane couldn't be more than 12 years old. - Gabe

So was this a Boing 737? - Gabe

Yes. Its first flight was November 2001 http://aviation-safety.net/databas... - Ken Sheppardson

See http://www.maxtrescott.com/max_tre... for an AFAICT purely speculative suggestion of what may have happened. Anyway the simplest explanation now is that it broke up because it ran off the runway. Why did it run off the runway? Good question. - Daniel Dulitz

Running off the end of an 8700 foot runway takes more than one or two factors... - Daniel Dulitz

Ok not so old then. I wonder what the crash investigation will turn up. - Roberto Bonini

On CNN a pilot said that this runway lacks grooves for drainage. Hydroplaning and the tailwind are two factors. We'll have to see what other factors were involved. - Bruce Lewis

http://aviation-safety.net/photos... roadside bank looks brutal - Thomas Page