The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate after two American Airlines regional jets collided at Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport, reports noted on Thursday.
“The wingtip of American Airlines Flight 5490 struck American Airlines Flight 4522 on a taxiway … around 12:45 p.m.,” the FAA said in a statement, per CNN.
Flight 5490 was en route to Charleston, South Carolina, while Flight 4522 was bound for JFK International Airport in New York, carrying seven members of Congress.
According to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, former Israeli hostages Keith and Aviva Siegel were also aboard the flight to JFK, CNN reported.
“BlueStreak 5490, did we hit the aircraft next to us?” the pilot flying asked the tower in air traffic control audio captured by the website LiveATC.net. BlueStreak is the callsign for PSA Airlines, which operated the flight for American Airlines. The other aircraft was operated by Republic Airways.
“We think we might have hit the (Embraer) 175 short of (runway) 19,” the pilot said. “We just heard a loud, like a boom, like a thunk, before we took the runway.” The winglet, a type of aerodynamic wingtip, reportedly broke off.
“We can see a piece of a winglet on the ground behind the right wing of the Embraer,” the control tower was told by a pilot, according to the audio.
“Insane,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), who was on one of the planes, told CNN. “Sitting there on runway and another plane hit … our wing.”
“Serving in Congress has come with some once-in-a-lifetime experiences … like just now while stationary on the runway at DCA, another plane just bumped into our wing,” Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) posted to social media. “Heading back to the gate, but thankfully everyone is ok!”
In a humorous part of the post, he noted that Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) was handing out grapes to other passengers, CNN noted.
Meanwhile, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) chose to politicize the accident. “This close call underscores the urgent need for more FAA funding — people’s lives are at stake,” he posted to social media. “Cuts and firing FAA employees are not the answer.”
“There is no effect on flight operations at Reagan National Airport, as both aircraft have returned to gates and no injuries were reported,” the airport told CNN.
The aviation mishap comes amid a string of recent incidents at the airport, including a deadly mid-air collision in January that killed 67 people and a military flyover last month that came perilously close to a departing aircraft.
The accident led current and former air traffic controllers to raise concerns about the FAA’s hiring practices and “immunity program,” warning that the issues may have contributed to the midair collision that killed dozens.
According to former air traffic controllers, the FAA’s emphasis on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) hiring practices that began during the Obama administration led to the employment of less qualified controllers and a staffing shortage, a concern that was first echoed by President Donald Trump during a press conference following the deadly disaster, Just the News reported.
Combined with an “immunity program” that does not hold controllers accountable for mistakes, these factors are believed to have contributed to the January 29 collision between an American Airlines plane and a U.S Army helicopter, which resulted in both aircraft plunging into the Potomac River near the Washington, D.C., area airport, killing all 67 people aboard.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the incident.
A 2023 report warned the FAA that air traffic controllers were increasingly making last-minute flight adjustments due to traffic and staffing shortages, raising safety concerns.
Some former ATCs have pointed to changes in the FAA’s hiring practices under the Obama administration as a contributing factor to the current state of air traffic control.