The wing of a Boeing 767 clipped the tail of a regional jet while taxiing last week at Boston Logan International Airport, adding to the growing tally of commercial airliner ground incidents in recent months.
The Delta 767 involved in the collision was taxiing out for departure at around 7:30 p.m. last Thursday when its left wing collided with the tail of a stationary jet operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines, one of Delta’s regional carriers. According to a Delta spokesman, the impact caused substantial damage to the regional jet’s vertical stabilizer. Photos and video of the damaged airplanes show that the winglet of the 767 was also sheared off and lodged in the tail of the regional jet.
Passengers on the 767 said the airplane was taxiing at a relatively quick pace when the incident occurred.
“I saw it coming,” one passenger on the Delta jet told the Boston Herald. “We were taxiing pretty quick. I saw the wing and I said, ‘We’re not going to clear that.’ It was like, oh, they hit, and that was that.”
While no serious injuries were sustained, one passenger on the commuter jet was taken to a local hospital after complaining of neck pain. After the incident, the hundreds of passengers aboard the aircraft were evacuated and placed on alternative flights.
The incident comes after a number of other recent taxiway collisions and near-misses between commercial airliners. Just a few weeks ago, a Lufthansa Airbus A340 had to slam on its brakes during takeoff from JFK in order to avoid an EgyptAir Boeing 777 that had strayed across the runway hold-short line.
In April, an Airbus A380 clipped the tail of a Delta Comair regional jet, causing the airplane and its occupants to spin more than 90 degrees. (The event was caught on amateur video – check it out here.) In May, the wing of a Delta 737 clipped the tail of another 737 in Atlanta, and last month, the wing of an A380 was torn off after it struck a building while taxiing at the Paris Air Show.
