Two American Airlines planes “clipped wings” on the tarmac at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday, with members of Congress on board.
Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) posted on social media about the incident, where one plane’s wing struck a stationary plane’s wing, noting Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) was also on the flight to New York City.
“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. Heading back to the gate, but thankfully everyone is ok! (And @RepGraceMeng is handing out grapes!),” LaLota said.
Meng posted about the incident, saying she is “glad” everyone was okay and stressed the importance of the Federal Aviation Administration being fully staffed.
“Glad my colleagues and I are okay! We are safely waiting on the tarmac, but we may need more snacks. I’m grateful no one was hurt today, but this incident underscores this urgent need restore all FAA jobs that keep our runways safe,” the congresswoman wrote.
Other members of Congress who confirmed they were on the flight included Reps. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), and Ritchie Torres (D-NY).
The FAA confirmed an incident occurred between the two American Airlines flights and said it would investigate. No injuries were reported.
“The wingtip of American Airlines Flight 5490 struck American Airlines Flight 4522 on a taxiway at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport around 12:45 p.m. local time on Thursday, April 10. Flight 5490, a Bombardier CRJ900, was headed to Charleston International Airport in South Carolina. Flight 4522, an Embraer E175, was headed to JFK International Airport in New York. The FAA will investigate,” the FAA said in a statement.
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The incident is the latest at DCA this year. In January, there was a deadly midair collision between an American Airlines flight, which was on final approach to the airport, and an Army helicopter.
Another incident occurred last month, when a Delta Air Lines flight and four Air Force jets had to divert to avoid a possible collision near the airport.
