The aircraft was approaching runway 13 to land on what appeared to be a normal final approach. The aircraft was aligned with the runway centerline,[15] and the autopilot remained engaged until the aircraft was about 230 feet (70 m) above ground level, and airspeed during the final approach was about 140 knots (160 mph), and 133 knots (153 mph) at touchdown. The aircraft touched down at 11:02 am with the main landing gear close to the runway centerline.[15] The MD-88 veered off the left side of the runway shortly after touchdown, about 3,000 feet (910 m) from the approach end of the runway, on a heading approximately 10 degrees left of the runway heading.