- Delta Flight 295 bound for Tokyo collided with Endeavor Air 5526 bound for Lafayette, La. on Tuesday, September 10
- DL295 was “taxiing” when it “came into contact with the tail” of Endeavor Air 5526, airline confirms
- The incident occurred “at the intersection of two taxiways,” according to the FAA
Two planes collided at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on the morning of Tuesday, September 10, both Delta and the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed.
Around 10:07 a.m. local time on Tuesday, September 10, Delta Flight 295 en route to Tokyo was “taxiing” when it “made contact with the tail” of Endeavor Air 5526 (a Delta subsidiary) on the adjacent taxiway, the airline confirmed in press release. The Endeavor Air flight was en route to Lafayette, La.
The collision resulted in the tail of the much smaller Endeavor being nearly severed from the fuselage. A DeltaA350, the largest aircraft in Delta’s fleet, suffered wing damage.
The incident caused no known injuries to crew members or passengers, the airline said.
CBS Senior Transportation Correspondent Chris Van Cleave likened the crash to “a semi-truck and a small sedan coming together to bend the fenders.” Noting: “In this case, the A350’s wingtip appears to have essentially clipped the tail or stabilizer at the rear of the aircraft.”
He added that “passengers on the A350 probably felt the impact. I imagine people on a much smaller plane, the CRJ900, would have felt it much more intensely.”
2 passenger planes collided on an airport runway after snowy conditions caused them to skid
After the incident, passengers were “transported back to the terminal” where they were placed on alternate flights, according to Delta. “There were 221 passengers on DL295 and 56 passengers on DL5526.”
The FAA confirmed it will “investigate the incident” in a statement shared with PEOPLE.
The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating: “NTSB investigators are traveling to the scene. A preliminary report is expected to be released in 30 days,” the agency said.
Pilots and experts are warning of an increase in the number of near-misses at airports before the deadly Japan Airlines crash
Damaged Delta plane after crash at Atlanta airport.
WSB/AP
In February, a similar incident occurred when two JetBlue planes made contact on the runway at Boston Logan International Airport.
“A JetBlue aircraft entering a de-icing runway at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) came into contact with another JetBlue aircraft on an adjacent de-icing runway, causing damage to the wing of one aircraft and the tail section of the other aircraft,” the airline said at the time stated.
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No injuries were reported by passengers or crew on either plane, the airline confirmed.
“Safety is JetBlue’s priority and we will work to determine how and why this incident occurred,” the statement concluded.
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