On Wednesday night, a serious incident occurred at LaGuardia Airport when two Delta airplanes collided on the runway, resulting in significant damage to one of the jets, according to reports from officials and shaken passengers. The collision caused the destruction of the nose of one aircraft and the loss of a substantial section of its wing.
The event transpired just before 10 p.m. as a plane, which had 32 passengers on board and was bound for Roanoke, Virginia, collided with the fuselage of another aircraft arriving from Charlotte, North Carolina, which carried 61 individuals. Delta Airlines confirmed the details in an official statement.
In recordings from air traffic control, one of the flight’s pilots remarked, “Their right wing clipped our nose and the cockpit. We have damage to our windscreen and… some of our screens in here.”
Images captured at the scene displayed that one plane’s windshield was entirely shattered and its nose severely damaged due to the impact.
A significant portion of a wing was also torn away during the incident.
“We got absolutely smashed by another Delta flight. I’m not sure if we hit them or they hit us, but it was incredibly shocking,” reported CBS News producer Joey Annunziato, who was a passenger on the flight from Charlotte. He shared a video taken from his seat immediately after the crash.
“Everyone lurched forward in their seats, and there was a chaos that ensued as soon as it happened. We were all in disbelief at what had just occurred,” he added, noting that his plane was traveling at quite a speed at the time of the collision.
William Lusk, another passenger, told ABC News that just after his plane landed, it “stopped suddenly, jerked, and veered to the right.”
“There was complete silence for a moment. As it became silent, the pilot calmly addressed us, stating, ‘We’ve been in a crash. Please remain calm,’” he recounted.
Fortunately, despite the extensive damage to the two aircraft, there were no injuries reported among the passengers, according to Delta Airlines.
However, a flight attendant from one of the planes did sustain non-life-threatening injuries and was subsequently taken to a local hospital, as reported by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Visuals and footage circulating on social media highlighted emergency vehicles responding rapidly to the collision involving the two regional jets, both operated by Endeavor Air.
Currently, the circumstances that led to the crash remain unclear, especially coming just as the government shutdown commenced, which has impacted numerous federal services.
Prior to the shutdown, airlines had cautioned that it could potentially disrupt US aviation and slow flight operations since Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers would work without pay during that period.
It is uncertain whether the staffing levels at LaGuardia were affected during the incident on Wednesday night.
The Post has attempted to reach the FAA for comment but has yet to receive a response.
The Port Authority assured that operations at LaGuardia Airport remained unaffected by the collision.
In response to the incident, Delta Airlines expressed its commitment to working closely with the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate what happened.
“Delta teams at our New York-LaGuardia hub are doing everything possible to assist our customers following the low-speed collision involving two Delta Connection aircraft operated by Endeavor Air during taxi,” the airline stated. “The safety of our customers and staff is our top priority, and we sincerely apologize for the distress this incident has caused.”
