2 Planes Clip Wings On The Ground At LaGuardia Airport
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - A Southwest Airlines and American Airlines plane clipped wings at LaGuardia Airport Tuesday morning, the Port Authority said.
The incident took place in the taxiway area of the airport around 11 a.m., the Port Authority said.
Southwest Airlines flight 449, a Boeing 737 with 143 passengers and five crew on board, sustained damage to the left winglet when it clipped American Airlines flight 1104, the Port Authority said.
"The wingtip of the aircraft operating Southwest Airlines Flight #449 departing from New York LaGuardia to Denver came in contact with another aircraft that was awaiting a gate," Southwest said in a statement. "The 143 customers onboard Flight 449 deplaned the aircraft via air stairs and were bussed to the terminal where our Teams are working to get them to their destinations. The aircraft involved has been taken out of service for inspection and repairs."
The American Airlines jet, which had originated in Dallas, had 143 passengers and six crew aboard, the airline said in a statement.
It was taxiing to its gate at the time of the incident and sustained tail wing damaged.
The airline said the plane is being evaluated.
Stunned passengers posted photos capturing some of the damage on social media, including one shot of an airport worker carrying away a piece of the Southwest plane's wing, CBS2's Scott Raporport reported.
Passenger Stormie Alsruhe was on the Southwest flight and told Rapoport over the phone what happened.
"I felt a bump and I thought it was just something on the tarmac," Alsruhe said. "And I looked out of the window and I see the tip of the plane dangling and fall to the ground. And people behind me said 'Oh my god, we just hit a plane.'"
There were no reports of injuries.
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