Two Delta Airlines jets collided on the runway at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport shortly before 10 p.m. EST on Wednesday.
The airline announced in a statement that Endeavor Flight 5155, scheduled to depart LaGuardia to Roanoke, Virginia, and Endeavor Air Flight 5047, arriving from Charlotte, North Carolina, were involved in a “low-speed collision” at 9:58 p.m. Endeavor is a “wholly-owned” subsidiary of Delta Airlines.
Early investigative reports into the incident revealed that the wing of Flight 5155 collided with the fuselage of Flight 5047. On Flight 5155, there were four crew members and 28 passengers, while on Flight 5047, there were four crew members and 57 passengers.
“Delta teams at our New York-LaGuardia hub are working to ensure our customers are taken care of after two Delta Connection aircraft operated by Endeavor Air were involved in a low-speed collision during taxi,” Delta said in a released statement. “Delta will work with all relevant authorities to review what occurred as safety of our customers and people comes before all else. We apologize to our customers for the experience.”
Conflicting reports about injuries from the collision were available, but overall, the total number of people hurt appeared minimal. Some publications reported no injuries among the passengers on either plane. One flight attendant was treated for minor injuries at the scene by EMTs and later transported to a local hospital, according to reports. However, the New York Times reported that one passenger was injured.
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There was also confusion regarding the extent of the planes’ damage from the incident. Some reports suggested that a wing on one of the aircraft had detached due to the collision.
According to reports, passengers were escorted off the planes and to the airport. CBS News reported that Delta would provide hotel accommodations to those who needed them while the airline rescheduled the flights of the passengers affected by the collision.
The collision between two Delta Airlines aircraft comes less than a month after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that 2,000 air traffic controllers would be hired this year as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to tackle a nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers. The Washington Examiner previously reported that the current Federal Aviation Administration Controller Workforce Plan revealed there is a need for 3,000 controllers in the country.
“We have a historic number this year of 2,000 controllers [that] are going to be hired, and we’re going to expand it next year,” Duffy said in an interview on Fox in September. “But it’s about a four-month academy, but once you graduate from the academy, you have to be trained up in your air space, so we are all hands on deck.”
