Plane passengers stranded during Oklahoma City tornado

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A Delta Air Lines official says unfortunate timing and inadequate communication resulted in passengers being stranded aboard two planes at the Oklahoma City airport as ground crews evacuated to a tunnel to take cover during a tornado warning.

Morgan Durrant, spokesman for Delta Air Lines, said the temporary stranding of passengers on Wednesday was unintentional. He said the Will Rogers World Airport’s decision to direct passengers and workers to take shelter came after the planes were cleared to land.

The Oklahoman (http://bit.ly/1P5lKq8 ) reports the arriving planes stopped about 400 feet from the terminal and passengers on the regional jets waited for about 15 minutes before help arrived.

Durrant says ground crews apparently thought the planes were being rerouted, so they took shelter before going back out to guide the airplanes into the terminal gates.