A Delta jet that was pushing back from its gate clipped an empty parked aircraft owned by the same company Sunday morning at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
There were no injuries among the 192 customers or six workers aboard the flight, according to Delta.
“We apologize to our customers for the experience and delay in their travels,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed in a statement to The Hill that it is investigating the incident, which “occurred in an area where air traffic controllers do not communicate with flight crews.”
“While Delta Air Lines Flight 1830 was pushing back from the gate at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, its right wingtip struck the left winglet of a parked Airbus A350 around 10:40 a.m. local time,” an FAA spokesperson said, based on preliminary information.
Passengers de-boarded back at the gate and were moved to a new plane. The rescheduled flight departed Atlanta shortly before 2 p.m.
The incident comes amid rising airport safety concerns. Two planes bumped into each other in April on a taxiway at Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C. Six members of Congress were on board one of the aircraft involved.
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