A scary incident went down at the Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport in Atlanta just after 10 a.m. on Tuesday morning when two Delta Air Lines planes collided on the runway while taxiing for takeoff. But thankfully, no injuries were reported.
Per CNN, the incident occurred when the wingtip of a Delta Airbus A350 about to fly to Tokyo "came into contact" with a Delta CRJ 900 regional jet operated by Endeavor Airlines headed to LaFayette, LA, resulting in in damage to the tail of the regional jet and the wing of the Airbus. A spokesperson for the airline said that passengers of the regional flight were shuttled back to the terminal by bus. The regional jet was carrying 56 passengers at the time while the Airbus had 221 passengers.
"There have been no reported injuries at this time and customers are being transported back to the terminal where they will be reaccommodated on alternate flights," Delta said in a statement on its website.
According to publicly available information from the Federal Aviation Administration, the impacted runway was subsequently closed along with several nearby taxiways. The agency also said it is investigating the incident and that Delta said it is cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board "and other authorities."
Tampa-based meteorologist Jason Adams was aboard one of the planes, describing the collision to TMZ as "very jarring" with "metal scraping sounds then loud bangs." Though, he added: "We’re fine. No fire or smoke."
"Just watched two planes hit each other while one was taking off. CRAZY!" one eyewitness posted to social media with photos, later posting a correction that the planes were both on a taxiway and not taking off.
Just watched two planes hit each other while one was taking off. CRAZY! @Delta @FoxNews @FAANews pic.twitter.com/cjWazBa8oK
— Talbot Cox (@TalbotCox) September 10, 2024
The Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport is the busiest airport in the world. Just weeks ago, another incident at a Delta Air Lines maintenance area in the congested Atlanta airport left two dead when a tire exploded on a Delta Boeing 757 plane while it was being removed from the aircraft. The FAA was also aware of that accident and in communication with Delta.
