Planes collide at Heathrow: Virgin 787 jet hits wing of British Airways Airbus on the tarmac in front of stunned passengers
- Did you witness this morning’s incident? Email: Darren.Boyle@mailonline.co.uk
A Virgin Atlantic 787 collided with a British Airways Airbus A350 while pushing back from the terminal building at Heathrow Airport, causing minor damage to both aircraft.
The Virgin plane was being guided by a tug when its wings struck the tail of the neighboring BA plane.
Emergency services rushed to the scene after the low-speed collision.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: ‘We are aware that the wingtip of one of our empty aircraft came into contact with another aircraft whilst being towed from its stand at London Heathrow Terminal 3.
‘The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority. We can confirm that there were no customers on board the Virgin Atlantic aircraft during this period.
“We have launched a full and thorough investigation and our technical teams are carrying out maintenance checks on the aircraft, which has been temporarily withdrawn from service.”
The Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 struck the British Airways Airbus A350 as it was pushed back from the terminal building at Heathrow Airport
Emergency services rushed to the scene after reports of a low-speed collision
One Twitter user, Alex Whittles, wrote: ‘Just witnessed a plane crash at Heathrow!
‘A tugboat pushing back a Virgin 787 crashed its wing into a BA A350.’
The British Airways plane had recently arrived in London from Accra, Ghana and was scheduled to depart from Gate 25 at Terminal 3 on its return journey at 12:40 p.m.
According to the Heathrow Airport departure board, the departure has been postponed to 6:30 PM.
Baggage handlers were operating in the vicinity of the British Airways aircraft at the time the collision occurred.
At least five fire engines responded to the scene in case of fuel leaks or possible fire. A large number of other airport security officials secured the scene.
The incident will be investigated by the Ministry of Transport’s Air Accident Investigation Branch.
They will want to know whether sufficient personnel were involved in the pushback from the terminal building, and how the Virgin plane managed to hit the horizontal stabilizer of the British Airways plane.
MailOnline has contacted British Airways and Heathrow Airport for comment.