On Wednesday, a Japan Airlines plane and a stationary Delta Airlines aircraft experienced a collision on the runway of Seattle-Tacoma Airport. The incident, which transpired at 10:17 a.m., led to damage to both aircraft, though no injuries were reported. The Japan Airlines aircraft was maneuvering across the tarmac when its wing made contact with the tail of the stationary Delta plane.
Passengers aboard the planes shared images on social media, showing the wing of the Japan Airlines plane having cut halfway through the tail of the Delta aircraft. One passenger recounted the incident as “very scary,” noting that the impact was loud and startling. Following the collision, the plane was inspected for additional damage.
Despite the incident, the airport stated that the collision had a “minimal impact” on its operations. Currently, the airport is collaborating with both airlines to ensure the safe deboarding of passengers and their subsequent transportation to the terminal.
This incident occurs during a tense time for airports across the country, following two recent fatal accidents. A week prior, a collision between a US Army helicopter and an American Airlines jet at Reagan National Airport resulted in the loss of 67 lives. Two days later, a medical evacuation jet in Philadelphia crashed onto a bustling street and exploded, resulting in the deaths of all six people on board and one person on the ground.
Adding to the tension, the Federal Aviation Administration’s Notice to Air Missions system (NOTAM), which provides critical information about potential hazards to aircraft and airports, experienced an outage over the weekend. Although the system was restored on Sunday, the outage led to delays for hundreds of flights.