Two planes operated by Delta Air Lines subsidiary Endeavor Air collided on the tarmac of New York City’s LaGuardia Airport, which left a flight attendant injured.
The collision occurred Wednesday night between the two planes — Endeavor Air Flight 5047, arriving from Charlotte, North Carolina; and Endeavor Flight 5155, scheduled to depart for Roanoke, Virginia — on a taxiway at LaGuardia. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement that the crash happened just before 10 p.m. Eastern Time.
The Federal Aviation Administration later said Flight 5047 was taxiing to its gate when it struck Flight 5155. The FAA said air traffic control instructed Flight 5155 to hold and yield to the other plane. The incident took place at the intersection of Taxiways M and A, according to the FAA.
In a statement, Delta Air Lines shared that preliminary information indicates that the wing of Flight 5155 made contact with the fuselage of Flight 5047 during the “low-speed collision,” and confirmed that a flight attendant suffered a minor injury in the collision. The port authority said they had been transported to a nearby hospital as a precaution.
The airline said that “Delta teams at our New York-LaGuardia hub are working to ensure our customers are taken care of after two Delta Connection aircraft operated by Endeavor Air were involved in a low-speed collision during taxi. Delta will work with all relevant authorities to review what occurred as safety of our customers and people comes before all else. We apologize to our customers for the experience.” Passengers were escorted off the planes and on to shuttle buses. The airline said passengers who needed them would be provided hotel rooms and booked onto new flights Thursday.
The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed in a post on social media Thursday that Flight 5155’s right wing and 5047’s nose and windscreen were damaged in the collision. Flight recorders from both planes were recovered and sent to NTSB headquarters in Washington to be analyzed.
The incident comes shortly after the government shutdown, which has left federal workers furloughed. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association warned that government shutdowns “reduce the safety and efficiency” of the National Airspace System and erode safety, adding in a statement that “during a shutdown, critical safety support staff are furloughed, and support programs are suspended, making it difficult for air traffic controllers and other aviation safety professionals to perform at optimum levels.”
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