Washington DC:
A Japan Airlines plane, during tarmac operations, collided with a Delta Airlines aircraft at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in the United States, on Wednesday morning. The Japan Airlines Flight 68 was on its way for taxiing when it clipped the tail of a parked Delta Airlines Flight 1921, airport authorities said.
At the time of the incident,185 people were on board the Japan Airlines plane, while the Delta Airlines flight was carrying 142 passengers.
Japan Airlines 787-9 collides with a Delta Air Lines 737-800 while taxiing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
The FAA said in a statement: “The right wing of Japan Airlines Flight 68 struck the tail of Delta Air Lines Flight 1921 while the planes were taxiing at… pic.twitter.com/prN8YKtywW
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) February 5, 2025
Authorities responded to the incident around 10:17 am, the Seattle airport said in a post on X.
At approximately 10:17 a.m. this morning, Port of Seattle Fire, Police and SEA operations responded to an incident on the ramp at SEA on a taxi line between S Concourse and the south airport maintenance hangars. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/lhDKdShN50
— Seattle-Tacoma Intl. Airport (@flySEA) February 5, 2025
Per the airport authorities, all passengers of both aircraft were deplaned and there were no reported injuries for crew or passengers. The response personnel were working to move the plane off the taxiway, they added.
Jason Chan, one of the passengers on the Delta flight, told the Associated Press that the plane “jiggled back and forth” and shook a little bit when the collision occurred. Shortly after, the captain announced that the plane’s tail had been hit. Passengers remained calm, Chan said, and eventually got off the plane to be bused back to the terminal.
Chan said the whole incident seemed “surreal,” but his group of six was making the most of it while waiting in the lounge for their rescheduled flight.
Later, Japan Airlines, in an emailed statement, said that the right wing of its Boeing 787 came into contact with the Delta plane’s tail while taxiing upon arrival from Tokyo’s Narita International Airport. “There were no injuries reported among the 172 passengers and 13 crew members onboard,” it added.
A Delta spokesperson told the Associated Press that its Boeing 737 was waiting to have ice removed from its exterior when the wing tip of another aircraft reportedly made contact with its tail. Deicing, as it’s known, can occur before a flight begins to taxi to the runway.
There were 142 passengers onboard the flight to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and they were being transferred to a new aircraft, the spokesperson said, adding that there were no reports of injuries for crew or passengers.
According to authorities, the airport operations were minimally impacted because the incident occurred on a taxi lane. Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration said it will investigate the incident.
