On Tuesday, two United Airlines planes had a mishap while getting ready for takeoff from San Francisco International Airport.
United Airlines Flight 863 was about to start its journey to Sydney, Australia, around 12:30 a.m. when the incident occurred, as reported by CNN.
The FAA noted that the accident took place in an area where air traffic controllers do not interact directly with flight crews.
Interestingly, controllers had mentioned that Flight 863 was in a “quite-deep” situation just moments before the incident. Reports indicated they had warned the pilots of the Sydney-bound flight to stay alert for other aircraft as they pushed back from the gate.
Flight 863 had 202 passengers and 16 crew members, while another United flight, Flight 877, was carrying 306 passengers and the same number of crew members.
A spokesperson for United Airlines confirmed the collision, assuring that “no injuries occurred.” They added, “Passengers on both planes have deplaned normally. We’re coordinating with our customers to rebook them.” The FAA is looking into the matter further.
This incident adds to an ongoing investigation into a series of safety concerns by the FAA. Just last week, a situation involving deep-fried copper wire caused a 90-second blackout in radar and communications for controllers at Newark Liberty International Airport.
The ongoing challenges have led to thousands of delays and cancellations, prompting the FAA to criticize the current shortage of air traffic controllers and runway construction issues.
United’s CEO Scott Kirby had previously pointed fingers at the air traffic controller shortage, claiming a significant percentage of FAA personnel overseeing Newark flights were sidelined due to equipment problems.
In an attempt to ease the current chaos, United, which serves a large portion of Newark’s traffic, plans to cancel 35 daily flights from New Jersey.
Additionally, an incident in late April involved a plane carrying congressional representatives nearly colliding with another aircraft at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The FAA confirmed they are looking into that situation, as well.
Another notable incident occurred on March 29, when a Delta Air Lines flight carrying 136 passengers almost collided with military jets during takeoff. A safety expert noted that it could have led to dangerous outcomes had an object been ingested into the plane’s engine.
The FAA is also reviewing reports about a Delta plane’s wings clipping the runway during a rough landing at LaGuardia Airport back in March.
