Planes bump wings on the ground at Washington’s Reagan National Airport
“The wingtip of American Airlines Flight 5490 struck American Airlines Flight 4522 on a taxiway… around 12:45 p.m,” the FAA said in a statement.
An American Airlines Airbus A321 taxis at Los Angeles International Airport on March 30 in Los Angeles, California. The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate after two American Airlines regional jets bumped wings at Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport. (Photo credit: Kevin Carter/Getty Images/FILE via CNN Newsource)
Washington (CNN) — The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate after two American Airlines regional jets bumped wings at Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport.
“The wingtip of American Airlines Flight 5490 struck American Airlines Flight 4522 on a taxiway… around 12:45 p.m,” the FAA said in a statement.
Flight 5490 was headed to Charleston, South Carolina while flight 4522 was headed to JFK International Airport in New York with seven members of Congress onboard.
“BlueStreak 5490, did we hit the aircraft next to us,” the pilot flying asked the tower in air traffic control audio captured by the website LiveATC.net
BlueStreak is the callsign for PSA Airlines, which operated the flight for American. The other plane was operated by Republic Airways.
“We think we might have hit the (Embraer) 175 short of (runway) 19,” the pilot said. “We just heard a loud, like a boom, like a thunk, before we took the runway,”
The winglet, which is a type of aerodynamic wing tip, was reported to have broken off.
“We can see a piece of a winglet on the ground behind the right wing of the Embraer,” the control tower was told by a pilot.
“Insane,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who was on one of the planes, told CNN. “Sitting there on runway and another plane hit… our wing.”
“Serving in Congress has come with some once in a lifetime experiences… like just now while stationary on the runway at DCA, another plane just bumped into our wing,” Rep. Nick LaLota posted to social media. “Heading back to the gate, but thankfully everyone is ok!”
In a lighthearted part of the post he noted Rep. Grace Meng was handing out grapes to other passengers.
“This close call underscores the urgent need for more FAA funding—people’s lives are at stake,” Rep. Gregory Meeks who was on the plane posted to social media. “Cuts and firing FAA employees are not the answer.”
“There is no effect on flight operations at Reagan National Airport, as both aircraft have returned to gates and no injuries were reported,” the airport said in a statement to CNN.
The aviation fender bender comes as the airport is coping with a series of recent incidents, including a mid-air collision in January that left 67 people dead and a military flyover last month that came dangerously close to a departing plane.
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