Two planes collided Tuesday morning at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, nearly severing the tail of a smaller aircraft, officials confirmed.
The incident occurred around 10:07 a.m. EDT when Delta Air Lines Flight 295, an Airbus A350 bound for Tokyo with 221 passengers, made contact with Endeavor Air Flight 5526, a smaller CRJ900 aircraft headed to Lafayette, Louisiana, carrying 56 passengers.
“Delta Flight 295 was taxiing out when it made contact with the tail of Endeavor Air 5526 at the intersection of two taxiways,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement. Endeavor Air is a subsidiary of Delta.
The collision caused significant damage to both aircraft. The tail of the Endeavor plane was almost completely separated from the fuselage, while the Delta A350, the largest in the airline’s fleet, sustained damage to its wing.
Chris Van Cleave, CBS News senior transportation correspondent, likened the incident to “a semi truck and a small sedan coming together for a fender bender.”
“The passengers on the A350 probably felt a thud. I imagine the folks on the much smaller plane, the CRJ900, would have felt that far more intensely,” Van Cleave added.
Despite the dramatic nature of the collision, no injuries were reported among passengers or crew members on either flight.
“Safety is our top priority,” the Delta spokesperson emphasized. “All passengers were safely transported back to the terminal and accommodated on alternate flights.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have both launched investigations into the incident.
“FAA investigators are en route to the scene,” an FAA spokesperson told the Associated Press. “We expect to release a preliminary report within 30 days.”
This collision comes just months after a similar incident at Boston Logan International Airport in February, where two JetBlue planes made contact on the tarmac while de-icing.
The Atlanta incident raises questions about ground traffic management at one of the world’s busiest airports. Hartsfield-Jackson has consistently ranked as the world’s busiest airport by passenger traffic since 1998.
Aviation safety experts are likely to scrutinize taxiway procedures and communication protocols between air traffic control and pilots as part of the investigation.
As the investigation unfolds, both Delta and airport officials have pledged full cooperation with federal authorities to determine the cause of the collision and prevent similar incidents in the future.
The collision temporarily disrupted operations at the airport, causing delays for some flights. However, airport officials reported that normal operations resumed by early afternoon.
This incident underscores the ongoing challenges of managing ground traffic at major airports and the critical importance of safety protocols in all aspects of air travel operations.
