A Japan Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner clipped the tail of a Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-800 while taxiing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Wednesday morning. The incident occurred around 10:40 a.m. local time in a non-air traffic control area. The Delta flight, carrying 142 passengers and bound for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, was waiting for deicing when it was struck by the Japan Airlines plane, which had just arrived from Tokyo’s Narita International Airport. The impact caused the Delta aircraft to jiggle, but no injuries were reported.
Passengers from both flights were safely deplaned and taken to the terminal, and Delta later arranged another aircraft to continue the journey to Mexico. Seattle airport temporarily paused some incoming flights, but authorities reported minimal operational impact as the collision occurred on a taxi lane.
The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation, and the National Transportation Safety Board is monitoring the situation. Japan Airlines has not yet provided a comment on the incident.
This comes amid heightened aviation safety concerns following recent accidents, including the fatal collision between an American Eagle regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., which killed 67 people. Days later, a medical transport plane crashed in Philadelphia, resulting in six fatalities. These incidents have intensified discussions about air traffic safety, with Elon Musk announcing plans to push for rapid upgrades to the system.
Delta issued an apology for the inconvenience, stating it will cooperate with authorities in the investigation.
