Two Delta Air Lines regional jets bumped into each other while taxiing on the tarmac at New York’s LaGuardia Airport Wednesday night. The slow-speed collision caused minor injuries to one flight attendant and sparked an investigation by federal authorities.
Both jets were CRJ-900 models operated by Endeavor Air, a regional carrier for Delta. Flight 5047, arriving from Charlotte, North Carolina, was making its way to the gate around 10 p.m. when it struck Flight 5155, which was taxiing for departure to Roanoke, Virginia. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said air traffic control had told Flight 5155 to hold short and let the other plane pass first.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) also stepped in to examine the incident. It sent a team of 10 investigators to LaGuardia and retrieved the flight recorders from both planes. These devices are now being analyzed in Washington to piece together exactly what happened.
Video shared on social media shows emergency lights flashing on the tarmac and visible damage to one plane’s wing. Delta said early reports suggest the wing of Flight 5155 grazed the body of Flight 5047 during taxiing. Fortunately, only one flight attendant was hurt lightly, and no passengers suffered injuries.
One passenger on the arriving flight described the moment in an interview, saying the plane had just turned off the main runway when the pilot braked suddenly. They could feel the aircraft drag as it made contact with the other jet.
This isn’t the first recent safety incident at LaGuardia. In March, a Delta jet’s wing clipped the runway during a go-around maneuver, drawing in an FAA probe. Federal investigators are also looking into a near miss on a runway in May involving a Republic Airways plane that had to abort takeoff to avoid a collision.
The collision comes amid concerns raised by airline groups about the ongoing US government shutdown’s potential impact on aviation safety. More than 50 industry and labor organizations recently warned that the shutdown could disrupt essential functions and oversight in the air travel sector.
Delta says it is cooperating fully with authorities and putting safety first as it investigates this latest mishap. With thousands of flights daily through LaGuardia, keeping the airport safe remains a top priority for everyone involved.