Ground collision of two Boeing planes in Chicago sparks FAA investigation
CHICAGO– A plane that was taxiing for departure clipped another plane at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Sunday evening, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday.
No injuries were reported, both planes were of Boeing design and the FAA says it will investigate the incident.
The left wingtip of Flight 11 of All Nippon Airways, a Japanese airline, struck the rear of Delta Air Lines Flight 2122 around 6:30 p.m. Central Time on Sunday, FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro said. The All Nippon Airways flight was a Boeing 777 and the Delta Airlines plane was a Boeing 717.
US aircraft manufacturer Boeing is under increasing scrutiny after a series of mechanical failures and the subsequent grounding of its Boeing 737 Max 9 model after an emergency exit door failed and caused an emergency landing last week. It was not immediately clear what caused the incident on Sunday and whether it was related to a manufacturing defect.
Boeing representatives made no comment Monday about the collision at O’Hare and instead instructed The Associated Press to speak to the airlines involved and the FAA.
Delta spokesperson Emma Johnson said by phone Monday afternoon that an All Nippon Airways plane clipped a Delta plane as it parked at a gate after arriving at O’Hare from Detroit.
“Customers deplaned normally at the gate and the aircraft is being evaluated by Delta maintenance technicians,” the company said in an emailed statement.
Raymond Bongalon, a customer service representative at All Nippon Airways, said Monday afternoon that the airline could not yet provide information about what happened.
The airline’s flight status investigation revealed that Flight 11 was headed to Tokyo but was canceled due to ‘aircraft inspection’.
The Chicago Department of Aviation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Savage is a staff member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.