Two JetBlue planes collided on the tarmac at Logan Airport in Boston on Thursday.
The jets collided while a fleet full of passengers were on both planes. One aircraft had its wing damaged while the tail of the other aircraft was destroyed.
Debris was scattered on the runway and both jets were taken out of service.
Thursday's incident occurred after the planes left the gate around 6:40 a.m. The FAA confirmed that one of the plane's “left winglets” struck the other passenger plane's “right horizontal stabilizer.”
One plane flew to Las Vegas, the other to Orlando.
The ordeal occurred while Florida-bound JetBlue Flight 551 was on the de-icing pad and the Nevada-bound jet was entering an adjacent de-icing lane, the airline said.
The jets collided on the tarmac while passengers were on both planes. A plane's wing was damaged – and debris was strewn across the runway
Damage to one of the wings can be seen in this photo taken by a passenger
One plane was en route to Las Vegas while the other was en route to Orlando
No injuries to customers or crew members were reported.
The Federal Aviation Administration: “The left winglet of JetBlue Flight 777, an Airbus A321neo, struck the right elevator of JetBlue Flight 551, an Airbus, at the de-icing pad in Boston at approximately 6:40 a.m. local time on Thursday, February 8 A321.”Logan International Airport.”
The administration confirmed it was investigating the crash.
JetBlue said in a statement: “On Thursday, February 8, a JetBlue aircraft entering a de-icing pad lane at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) came into contact with another JetBlue aircraft in an adjacent de-icing pad lane and caused damage to the winglet of one aircraft and the tail section of the other aircraft.
“There were no injuries reported by customers or crew members on either aircraft.
“Both aircraft will be removed from service for repairs, and JetBlue Flight 777 to Las Vegas and JetBlue Flight 551 to Orlando will operate on other aircraft.”
“Safety is JetBlue’s priority and we will work to determine how and why this incident occurred.”
A person who was on one of the flights subsequently went to X and wrote to JetBlue: “Our plane collided with another plane on the runway.” You have to be kind of stupid to let that happen.
“Their continued decline as the worst airline available is truly remarkable and should be investigated. 'You are a bunch of idiots.'
Debris from a plane can be seen on the runway at Boston Airport
A view of the damaged JetBlue wing from another aircraft
Last year, dozens of near misses between aircraft were recorded in the United States.
According to reports from the Federal Aviation Authority, there were 46 “close calls” in July 2023 alone, and airline officials fear it is only a matter of time before a devastating incident occurs in the United States.
Recent examples include several cases in which planes nearly collided while taking off or landing at major U.S. airports. Others involve a near mid-air collision between two aircraft traveling at more than 500 mph.
Industrial workers blame the shortage of air traffic controllers, which forces many in the profession to work mandatory overtime. The demands of the job have caused some to burn out and even use alcohol and sleeping pills to relieve stress.
A shocking 99 percent of air traffic control facilities in the United States are understaffed, with 310 of 313 found to lack sufficient manpower.
Some of them, including the regional facility in New York and a high-rise in Philadelphia, are operating at about 60 percent of staff or less.
Among the incidents the Times uncovered in reviewing preliminary FAA incident reports from July is one on July 2, when a Southwest Airlines flight landing at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport died just seconds after colliding with a Delta Airlines 737 passing runway preparing to take off.
The Southwest flight aborted its landing and narrowly avoided crashing.
On July 11, two planes taking off from San Francisco almost crashed into a Frontier Airlines plane that had just landed. The Frontier jet was waiting to cross a runway, its nose dangerously close to the path of the two jets.
Officials said the encounters were “up close.”
In a third incident two and a half weeks later, a near miss occurred between an American aircraft and a United Airlines aircraft near Minden, Louisiana. The American pilot was flying at more than 500 miles per hour and had to quickly pull the Airbus A321 plane 700 feet to avoid a collision.
There hasn't been a major plane crash in the United States in more than a decade.
While fatal incidents involving small private aircraft can occur several times a year, the last fatal U.S. airline crash occurred in 2009, when Colgan Air Flight 3407 from Newark, New Jersey, to Buffalo, New York, crashed into a House collapsed in Clarence Center, New York, killing all 49 people on board and one person on the ground.