Planes Collide at LaGuardia Amidst Delays

On Friday, two United Airlines planes collided on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport, which was already facing significant delays due to adverse weather conditions and staffing shortages.

A United flight returning from Orlando made contact with the tail of another United plane while taxiing to its gate. An airline representative confirmed this. The second plane was stationary, waiting for ground transport to Houston.

“We felt a sudden jolt while heading toward the runway, but we didn’t immediately grasp it was another plane,” shared a passenger who preferred to remain anonymous.

Footage from the scene showed numerous emergency vehicles in attendance.

Both aircraft returned to the gate, and all 328 passengers along with 15 crew members disembarked without any reported injuries.

Following the incident, maintenance crews began evaluating the clipped plane for any damages. At the time of the crash, the Houston-bound flight was already delayed by about 90 minutes, and the delays continued to escalate overnight.

Earlier in the day, LaGuardia had grounded flights due to strong winds, which peaked at 45 miles per hour.

Ground delays at LaGuardia averaged around two hours and 15 minutes, with some flights facing delays of up to five hours.

The National Weather Service had also issued a wind advisory that remained in effect until midnight.

Inquiries regarding the incident were directed to United Airlines by the Port Authority, while LaGuardia Airport itself did not provide any comments. The FAA was unable to respond due to a government shutdown.

Meanwhile, airports nationwide were grappling with air traffic control staffing issues, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned of potential chaos if closures extended into the holiday season. He mentioned that unpaid air traffic controllers might have to seek other employment to make ends meet, possibly leading to major disruptions in air traffic.