Key West, FL – NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick sustained a broken rib and a broken collarbone after a private jet carrying him experienced braking issues and ran off the runway while attempting to land at Key West International Airport on Monday night.
Hendrick Motorsports said in a news release that Hendrick, his wife, Linda, and the two pilots on board the Gulfstream G150 aircraft were treated and released from Lower Keys Medical Center early Tuesday morning. Linda suffered minor cuts and bruises, both pilots did not sustain any injuries, and all four have returned to North Carolina.
The aircraft is co-owned by Hendrick and five-time defending Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who drives for HMS. The incident, which occurred approximately 7:45 p.m. local time, is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.
According to the Miami Herald, the plane skidded completely off the 4,800-foot runway and came to a stop along a 600-foot unpaved safety area that had just been added at the airport in May. Peter Horton, director of the airport, said the pilot and co-pilot radioed to the tower that they had no brakes.
"If this area hadn't been added the outcome would have been different and probably catastrophic," Horton told the newspaper. "Before we had only 100 feet of overrun and then they would have gone into a salt pond and hit an embankment."
The accident occurred seven years after a plane owned by Hendrick crashed while en route to a race held at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. All 10 people onboard were killed, including Hendrick's son, brother and two nieces.
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