The wing tip of an American Airlines plane struck another plane from the same airline on a taxiway of the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday, authorities said. No injuries were reported.
The wing tip of an aircraft heading to Charleston, South Carolina, struck a plane en route to New York City about shortly before 1 p.m., according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating.
The plane to New York wasn't moving at the time, passenger and U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota said on X.
LaLota noted that U.S. Rep. Grace Meng was also aboard the flight.
“Serving in Congress has come with some once in a lifetime experiences … like just now while stationary on the runway at DCA, another plane just bumped into our wing,” LaLota’s post said. “Heading back to the gate, but thankfully everyone is ok!”
Roughly 80 people were on the plane to Charleston, and 71 for the flight to New York, according to American Airlines. The company said in a statement that damage was limited to a winglet on each aircraft. It said both planes would be taken out of service for inspection and that replacement aircraft would take passengers to their destinations.
“Safety is our top priority, and we apologize to our customers for their experience,” the airline’s statement said.
Greg Gilligan, a passenger on the flight to New York, said he was able to board a new aircraft about 3:30 p.m. He said the experience had stunned him.
“I saw the plane zipping by thinking it was going fast, when it struck the wing of our plane,” Gilligan said in a text message. “It was a crazy unbelievable experience.”
