Two regional Delta jets clipped each other on the ground at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Wednesday night, officials said, in the latest incident involving close calls or collisions of passenger aircraft this year.
There was one minor injury reported after the planes, both Delta Connection flights operated by Delta-owned Endeavor Air, came into contact around 9:58 p.m., Delta Air Lines and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said.
One of the planes was taxiing to depart for Roanoke, Virginia, and the other had landed from Charlotte, North Carolina, and was taxiing to its arrival gate when the collision occurred, Delta said.
Preliminary information is that the wing of the plane that was to depart made contact with the fuselage of the plane taxiing to the arrival gate, it said.
“Delta teams at our New York-LaGuardia hub are working to ensure our customers are taken care of after two Delta Connection aircraft operated by Endeavor Air were involved in a low-speed collision during taxi,” Delta Air Lines said in a statement.
The airline apologized and said the safety of customers and employees “comes before all else.” It said it would cooperate “with all relevant authorities” to review what happened.
Both of the planes were CRJ-900 regional jets, the port authority said.
The flight that was taxiing to depart, Endeavor Air Flight 5155, had four crew members and 28 passengers on board, and the other plane, Endeavor Air Flight 5047, was carrying four crew members and 57 passengers, Delta said.
A flight attendant reported a minor injury and was treated at the scene by EMTs, the airline said.
There have been a number of close calls involving passenger aircraft this year, including in North Dakota in July when a B-52 bomber and a SkyWest jet were in the same airspace and appeared to be on a collision course over the state fair.
In April, a plane carrying six U.S. House members was clipped by another plane as both aircraft were on the ground at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C.
In Chicago in February, a passenger plane that was attempting to land almost touched down at Midway International Airport before it took off again to avoid a jet crossing its path on the runway.
Delta said it would cooperate fully with the Port Authority, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board to review what occurred Wednesday.
