Two Delta Air Lines regional jets collided Wednesday evening while taxiing at LaGuardia Airport in New York, injuring a flight attendant in what the airline described as a “low-speed collision”.
The incident occurred around 9:56 p.m. ET near Terminal C, involving Delta Connection flights DL5047 arriving from Charlotte, North Carolina, and DL5155 departing to Roanoke, Virginia.
The right wing of the outbound jet struck the nose of the inbound aircraft, causing the wing to detach and the nose to crumple.
A flight attendant sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a nearby hospital, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Delta confirmed that no passengers were injured.
“Delta teams at our New York-LaGuardia hub are working to ensure our customers are taken care of after two Delta Connection aircraft operated by Endeavor Air were involved in a low-speed collision during taxi,” the airline said in a statement.
“Delta will work with all relevant authorities to review what occurred as safety of our customers and people comes before all else. We apologize to our customers for the experience.”
According to Air Traffic Control (ATC) audio reported by ABC News, a pilot described the damage: “Their right wing clipped our nose and the cockpit—we have damage to our windscreen and … some of our screens in here.”
CBS News reported that one of their producers was aboard flight DL5047, which had just landed from Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The plane was taxiing to the gate when its wing was struck by the other Delta regional jet.
All 93 passengers and crew deplaned safely, and Delta said the airport’s overall operations were not affected.
The airline is cooperating with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and the Port Authority as investigations continue.
LaGuardia, the city’s second-busiest airport, primarily handles domestic flights.
This incident adds to a series of recent safety concerns at the airport, including a March event where a Delta plane’s wing struck the runway during landing, prompting a go-around and an FAA investigation.