A plane clipped the wing of another passenger jet carrying several members of Congress on a taxiway at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on Thursday afternoon. The Federal Aviation Administration said the wingtip of an American Airlines flight bound for Charleston, South Carolina, struck another American Airlines flight bound for JFK International Airport in New York around 12:45 p.m. on a taxiway at Reagan Airport. No injuries were reported. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat representing New Jersey’s Fifth District, said in a post on X he was on the plane bound for New York and used the incident as a chance to remind people about the consequences of cuts to the FAA, saying they “weaken our skies and public safety.”
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The flight bound for Charleston was moving on the taxiway and hit the plane bound for New York, which was stationary at the time of the incident, according to Rep. Nick LaLota, a Republican representing New York’s First District, who was also on board.
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Rep. Grace Meng, a Democrat representing New York’s Sixth District, said everyone on board was OK and crews began repairing the plane’s wing after passengers returned to the gate.
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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 to The Associated Press 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.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it’s investigating the collision. The collision is the second between two aircraft at or near Reagan National Airport this year. On the night of Jan. 29, a military helicopter and American Airlines flight collided over the Potomac River near the airport, killing all 67 people on board both aircraft. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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