JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two Delta Air Lines planes collided on a taxiway at Atlanta’s airport Tuesday morning, with a larger plane knocking over the tail of a smaller regional jet.
No injuries were reported and Delta said passengers were rebooked on other flights that departed Tuesday afternoon.
Then on Thursday, an Alaska Airlines jet taking off in Nashville braked to a rapid stop on the runway to avoid a possible collision with a Southwest Airlines plane.
Federal agencies are investigating the incidents amid a push to address runway safety.
The FAA has coined a new phrase “Airport Surface Safety” to address the problem. In the past the phrase used was “runway incursion.”
Aviation expert Ed Booth told News4JAX this demonstrates the FAA is actively trying to address what is likely the number one safety concern in aviation. Both says a senate subcommittee held extensive public hearings on aviation safety in November of 2023.
“A Multi discipline approach was agreed upon, and it is underway right now, and it’s a combination of training and educating pilots to be more careful, to have better situational awareness. Same goes for air traffic controllers, better procedures, better staffing, better distribution of resources. And then another prong of this approach is technology. The ability to track airplanes electronically on the ground is something that has been developed in the past few years, and the application of artificial intelligence to warn controllers when a collision danger is present. So between all of these different approaches, a better level of safety is hoped
For years the industry has realized the potential for significant loss of life is while an aircraft is still on the ground, or in the process of taking off or landing, Booth said.
Atlanta-based Delta said the wing of a Delta Airbus A350 jet that was bound for Tokyo hit the tail of a smaller Bombardier CRJ-900 that was on an adjacent taxiway. The regional jet, operated by Delta subsidiary Endeavor Air, was preparing to take off for Lafayette, Louisiana.
“You know I just noticed that the tail on the RJ is missing,” an air traffic controller said, according to audio archives maintained by LiveATC.net. “So Endeavor 5526, hold your position, and do you require any immediate assistance?”
“No immediate assistance,” a pilot answers back. “We’ll need a tow, though.”
Jason Adams, a meteorologist for WFTS-TV in Tampa, Florida, who is traveling to Louisiana to cover Tropical Storm Francine, recounted the moment of impact on social platform X.
“Well that was terrifying,” Adams wrote. “Taxiing out for the flight from Atlanta to Louisiana and another plane appears to have clipped the back of our plane. Very jarring, metal scraping sounds then loud bangs. We’re fine. No fire or smoke.”
Adams posted pictures of the tail of the smaller plane knocked on its side and laying on the taxiway.
Delta said the wing of the larger plane was also damaged.
“We apologize to our customers for the experience,” the airline said in a statement.
Officials at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport said passengers from one plane were bused back to the terminal, while the other plane returned to a gate under its own power. There were 221 passengers on the Airbus and 56 passengers on the regional jet.
Delta said it would cooperate with the National Transportation Safety Board and other authorities.
Airport officials described disruptions to operations at the world’s busiest airport as “minimal.” Delta said both planes would be moved to maintenance hangars.
In Nashville, FAA said the Alaska pilots aborted their takeoff because the Southwest plane was cleared to cross the end of the same runway around 9:15 a.m.
An Alaska Airlines spokesperson said the pilots recognized “a potential traffic conflict on the runway” and “immediately applied the brakes to prevent the incident from escalating.”
No injuries were reported, but tires on the Boeing 737 Max went flat from the extreme heat buildup during the stop, according to the Seattle-based airline.
Southwest said it was in contact with the FAA and the NTSB and will participate in the investigation.
Alaska Airlines said the flight to Seattle carried 176 passengers and six crew members. The plane was being inspected, and another plane was dispatched to take passengers to Seattle by Thursday night, the airline said.