Star-Telegram

Delta jet’s wingtip knocks tail off another jet in Atlanta

The wingtip of a Delta Air Lines jet struck the tail of a Delta commuter aircraft while taxiing at Hartsfield-Jackson Internatio­nal Airport on Tuesday morning, causing severe damage to the smaller plane.

There were passengers on board both planes, but no injuries were reported as of around 2 p.m., according to Hartsfield-Jackson and Delta.

A Delta Airbus A350 was taxiing for departure at the Atlanta airport when its wingtip struck the tail of a Delta Connection regional jet, according to the Federal Aviation Administra­tion.

The CRJ-900 was on an adjacent taxiway when it was hit by the A350. The collision damaged the wing of the A350 and the tail of the regional jet, according to Delta.

The FAA said it will investigat­e the incident, which occurred around 10:07 a.m.

The A350 was Delta Flight 295, a flight to Tokyo. The Delta Connection aircraft was a Bombardier CRJ-900 operated by Endeavor Air as Flight 5526 to Lafayette, Louisiana.

According to air traffic control audio from LiveATC.net, one of the pilots said: “Uh, we just hit something on the taxiway. Could you tell us what it was?”

The response: “The whole tail of that CRJ is off.”

Passengers on one aircraft were taken by bus to Concourse B, while the other aircraft taxied to a gate. The airport said there is “minimal impact” to its operations, and Delta said its operations continued normally at Hartsfield-Jackson.

There were 221 passengers on the A350 and 56 passengers on the CRJ-900. Delta said the passengers would be placed on other flights.

“We apologize to our customers for the experience,” Delta said in a written statement.

The National Transporta­tion Safety Board said its investigat­ors were traveling to the scene Tuesday and it expects to have a preliminar­y report in 30 days.

“Delta is cooperatin­g with the NTSB and other authoritie­s on this incident,” the airline said.