The wing of an American Airlines plane reached another American Airlines plane in a shooting street at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, DC, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
No one was injured, said the Washington’s metropolitan authority. Both airplanes returned to Gates and the airport operations were not affected, the agency said.
Representative Nick Lalota, RN.y., tweeted that his plane was “stationary on the track” when another plane “ran into our wing.”
“Fortunately, everyone is fine!” Added.
“They ran into our right wing, it was a strong sound,” Lalota told ABC News Live.
He said that when he looked out the window, he saw the wing trembling.
“The plane shook violently,” said Josh Gottheimer, Dn.J., another member of the Congress on the flight, to ABC News Live. “It was quite clear that we hit ourselves.”
“The pilot came in and told us that we were not going anywhere, except at the door. Then we wait about 45 minutes or so before they could move,” said Gottheimer.
He called the unacceptable incident.
“The key is now making sure that we are doing it, from a supervision perspective, everything possible to make sure that FAA is taking appropriate measures, not only to investigate what happened, but to protect all our airports,” he said.
In this archive photo of February 4, 2025, a plane prepares to land while other airplanes wait on a track at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.
Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters, Archive
“This is not a time to cut the FAA[‘s jobs] When they have little personal, “he said, calling him” deeply worrying. “
The representative Grace Meng, Dn.y., who was also on the flight, agreed with Gottheimer, writing on social networks: “I am grateful that no one hurt today, but this incident underlines this urgent need to restore all the work of the FAA that our safe clues maintain.”
The airline said that “the damage was limited to an eaves on each plane” and the airplanes “have been taken out of service to be inspected.”
“Security is our top priority, and we apologize to our clients for their experience,” added the airline.
The flight of the representatives was heading to the JFK International Airport in New York. The other plane was heading to Charleston, South Carolina.
FAA said it is investigating.
Reagan has been under scrutiny since January, when an American Airlines plane and an army helicopter collided near the airport, killing everyone aboard both planes.
