A collision between a pair of JetBlue Airbus planes on a deicing pad at Boston Logan International Airport Thursday led passengers to switch to new aircraft on both flights.
At around 6:40 a.m., the left winglet of JetBlue Flight 777 hit the right horizontal stabilizer on the tail of JetBlue Flight 551 on a tarmac deicing pad, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Flight 777, full of passengers, had left the gate and was rolling toward its flight to Las Vegas when the collision occurred, passenger Dave Sauter told Boston Fox affiliate WFXT.
Fellow passenger Brian O’Neil told local ABC station WCVB, “I noticed there was another plane parked in the area to get deiced, as well. I’m like, ‘Boy, we are really close to that pane.’ But I figured they know what they are doing, and then sure enough, bump. It felt like we hit a pothole or something.”
Meanwhile, Flight 551 was headed for Orlando, Florida.
“It was just a really sharp jostle, and the plane kind of rocked back and forth. At first I thought maybe it was the deicing truck that did it, but it wasn’t; it was another plane that passed by too close,” passenger Kathleen Wnuk told local TV station WHDH.
No injuries resulted from the collision, but both flights were deplaned and delayed.
“Both aircraft will be taken out of service for repairs, and JetBlue flight 777 to Las Vegas and JetBlue flight 551 to Orlando will operate on other aircraft. Safety is JetBlue’s priority, and we will work to determine how and why this incident occurred,” JetBlue said in a statement to Boston.com.
The FAA is also investigating the incident.
Both flights left Boston between four and five hours late, according to tracking website FlightAware.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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