A passenger jet carrying at least five members of Congress was clipped by another commercial plane on the ground at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington, DC.
Rep. Nick LaLota, a Republican from New York on the House Appropriations Committee, said Thursday in a social-media post that another plane “bumped” into the wing while the jet he was aboard was stationary. He said his plane was heading back to the gate and noted another New York lawmaker, Rep. Grace Meng — a Democrat who serves on the same committee — was also on the flight.
“Thankfully everyone is ok!” LaLota said in the post.
Meng confirmed she was on the flight in her own social media post, as did House Reps. Adriano Espaillat of New York and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, both Democrats. A spokesperson for Rep. Ritchie Torres said he too was on the flight.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that the wingtip of American Airlines Flight 5490 struck American Airlines Flight 4522 on a taxiway midday Thursday. The agency said it will open an investigation.
No one was injured in the incident, which caused damage to the winglets on both planes, American Airlines Group Inc. said in a statement. Flight 5490, headed to Charleston, South Carolina, was operated by the carrier’s PSA Airlines subsidiary, while Flight 4522, bound for New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, was operated by regional carrier Republic Airways.
“We apologize to our customers for their experience,” American said.
The incident comes as confidence in the safety of the US aviation system has been rattled following a deadly midair collision between a US military helicopter and regional passenger jet near Reagan airport in January. Since then, safety investigators have raised concerns about an alarming number of close calls near that airport over the last several years — an issue regulators have taken steps to address.
The worries over the congested airspace near Washington were reignited last month after a close call between a Delta Air Lines Inc. plane and US Air Force jets.
