Another day, another mishap in the air industry. This time, two United Airlines planes accidentally clipped each other while preparing to take off.
The two United flights clipped wings at the San Francisco International Airport while on the runway on Tuesday. It appears that United Airlines Flight 863 was to blame. That flight was headed to Sydney, Australia when it caught a mishap before even leaving the runway. While pushing back for departure, the flight's right wing clipped the wing of United Airlines Flight 877 headed for Hong Kong.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the mishap with the two flights to CNN. The organization said the accident happened "in an area where air traffic controllers do not communicate with flight crews."
"No injuries occurred and passengers on both planes deplaned normally," a United Airlines spokesperson said in a statement. "We are working with our customers to rebook them on other flights."
Both flights had hundreds of people currently delayed off their original schedules. So they are probably very inconvenienced. But it's good that United is working to get them rebooked.
United Clipped
Meanwhile, the FAA is investigating the incident to find out exactly what happened between the two flights. It's the latest in a series of blunders that has travelers feeling less confident in flying. Additionally, understaffing, flight delays, and mechanical issues have all made the headlines from across the airline industry.
It's not even the first time two planes clipped each other in recent months. In April, two American Airlines flights collided with one another. One of the planes was carrying congressional representatives for New York and New Jersey. The incident happened at Ronald Regan Washington National Airport.
An AA Bombardier CRJ900 flight bumped into the American Airlines flight headed for JFK.
"American Eagle flight 5490, operated by PSA Airlines, made contact on a DCA taxiway with American Eagle flight 4522, operated by Republic Airways. Safety is our top priority, and we apologize to our customers for their experience," an American Airlines spokesperson said.
Like United, American Airlines played damage control and tried to soften the severity of the incident.
