Two planes made contact on the tarmac at New York’s LaGuardia Airport Friday, according to multiple reports.
United Airlines Flight 580, which had just arrived from Chicago, was turning into its arrival gate when it clipped the tail of United Flight 434. The latter flight was stationary and awaiting takeoff for Houston.
“We all felt a bump during taxi to the runway but didn’t know it was another plane until the captain said it was,” a passenger on United Flight 434 told the New York Post, which broke the news regarding the collision.
Thankfully, no one was injured, as “both planes returned to the gate and passengers deplaned normally,” United Airlines said. There were 328 passengers and 15 crew members on the two aircraft combined.
The accident occurred amid widespread delays at LaGuardia, JFK and Newark Airport in New Jersey due to high winds and staffing shortages. A ground stop was ordered at JFK until 7:30 p.m. ET because of staffing problems, with a ground delay in effect through early Saturday, according to the New York City Emergency Management Office.
Newark and JFK were also under ground delays because of wind and worker shortages, the Emergency Management Office said.
“Arrival rates range from 24 to 28 planes per hour through early Saturday morning,” the office added. “Average delay is about 140 minutes and some flights are delayed more than five hours. Departures from LaGuardia are also averaging 15-minute delays and increasing because of wind.”
Possible ‘disaster’ coming, warns government official
Amid the ongoing government shutdown, which has now lasted one month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned last week that air travel could get worse in November because of staffing issues and overworked traffic controllers.
“It’ll be a disaster in aviation,” Duffy said. “October is a slower, air travel month, and we have great weather in October. And so you’ve seen minimal disruption because of good weather and slower travel.
“But as we go into November, travel picks up as people start to look at going to see their families, kids come home from college.”
Duffy also warned of the possibility of unpaid air traffic controllers needing to find second jobs in order to support themselves and their families, which could cause “mass issues throughout the airspace.”
