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KINGSTON, Jamaica (CBS) ― An investigation is underway after an American Airlines flight from Miami with more than 150 aboard overshot a runway and skidded to the edge of the Caribbean Sea, injuring more than 40 people, reports CBS station WFOR-TV.

Flight 331 lurched down the runway of Norman Manley International Airport in the Jamaican capital Tuesday night. Crews evacuated the passengers, who had to walk along a beach in the rain to board buses to reach the terminal.

"We just felt a big crash, we felt a big impact and we realized that the plane had crashed," said one of the plane's passengers who did wish to be identified. "We scrambled out because we didn't know if it was going to explode."

Some 44 people were taken to nearby hospitals with broken bones and back pains, Information Minister Daryl Vaz told The Associated Press.

Four people were seriously injured, said Paul Hall, senior vice president of airport operations. American Airlines said only two were admitted to the hospital and nobody suffered life-threatening injuries.

Neville Jackson, who flew to Miami Wednesday from Kingston on American Air, said if the plane had skidded any farther, it would have ended up in the water.

"It was no more than 20 feet," said Jackson, "Oh yes, you could see water almost right under it. It was something to see."

"It seems to me if it had gone a few more feet it would been in the ocean," agreed fellow traveler Maya Deer. "It was a very daunting thing to see, going on a plane from the exact same airline. Knowing that that aircraft is what we should have been on this morning. It was very daunting to see."

According to passengers of Flight 331, it was a bumpy flight from Miami, and the pilot warned everyone on board of more turbulence just before landing.

The plane's fuselage was cracked, both engines broke off from the impact, and the left main landing gear collapsed, airline spokesman Tim Smith said. Most of the injuries were cuts and bruises, and none were life threatening, he said.

"I heard this humongous boom," passenger Monica Ruff told "The Early Show" by phone from Kingston. "Things were scattered everywhere. Everybody was just trying to run and save themselves to get out."

U.S. federal investigators are trying to determine if the plane should have been landing in such bad weather, Smith said, adding that other planes landed safely amid heavy rain.

Jim Tilmon, a retired American Airlines pilot, told "Early Show" co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez that the conditions alone should not have caused the crash, and the plane involved was completely capable of landing in poor weather.

Tilmon said the National Transportation and Safety Board investigation would reveal many details as to what could have caused the crash. He told Rodriguez that much of a jetliner's landing sequence takes place in the minutes prior to touchdown; factors like aircraft posture, speed, and water on the runway would likely be looked into.

Some passengers leaving the plane were seen with cuts on their faces or bloody lips. Some looked visibly shaken as they left the terminal wrapped in red blankets. Others ducked under umbrellas to escape the heavy downpour.

Passenger Robert Mais told The Gleaner newspaper of Jamaica that he could hear the engine's reverse throttle but that the plane didn't seem to slow as it skittered down the runway. He said he felt rain coming through the roof of the darkened jet after the impact and that baggage from the overhead compartments was scattered throughout the cabin.

"Some (passengers) were shaken up badly," he told the paper.

The plane was about 10 to 15 feet from the Caribbean Sea at that point, and passengers walked along the beach to be picked up by a bus, Mais said.

The Boeing 737-800, which originated at Reagan National Airport in Washington, had taken off from Miami International Airport at 8:52 p.m. and arrived in Kingston at 10:22 p.m. It was carrying 148 passengers and a crew of six, American said. The majority of those aboard were Jamaicans coming home for Christmas, Vaz said.

Orr reports that the Boeing involved in the incident was fairly new.

"All of a sudden, when it hit the ground, the plane was kind of bouncing, someone said the plane was skidding and there was panic," Passenger Pilar Abaurrea of Keene, New Hampshire, said in a telephone interview.

As the crew opened the emergency exits and people scrambled to get off, Abaurrea, 62, and her husband, Gary Wehrwein, noticed a number of people with injuries, including one person who had a cut on his head from falling baggage.

Abaurrea said she had pain in her neck and back from the impact, and her husband had pain in a shoulder from falling luggage, but they were otherwise unhurt. "I'm a little bit shook up but OK," she said.

Abaurrea said the flight was very turbulent, with the crew being forced to halt the beverage service three times before finally giving it up. Just before landing, the pilot warned of more turbulence but said it likely wouldn't be much worse than what they had experienced so far, she said.

Anyone who had friends or family on the flight can call the airline at 800-245-0999 for more information.

Smith said there are two "significant cracks" in the fuselage but it is intact, and both engines came off the plane. He said the engines are designed to separate from the wings during an accident as a safety measure.

The airport reopened early Wednesday after officials had delayed flights because of concerns that the plane's tail might be hindering visibility.

Some 400 passengers waited for their flights to be cleared for takeoff, Security Minister Dwight Nelson told Radio Jamaica.

Heavy rains that have pelted Jamaica's eastern region for four days are expected to dissipate by Thursday. Authorities said the rains washed away a 7-year-old girl on Tuesday and led to a bus accident in which two people died.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)