A United Airlines flight from Orlando was turning toward its arrival gate when it hit the tail area of another United plane on the taxiway, according to The New York Post, an airline spokesman. This comes as the nearly month-long government shutdown is pushing air travel to breaking point. The two planes reportedly collided on the LaGuardia tarmac on Friday due to severe weather delays and understaffing.
The plane that was hit and waiting to taxi for a flight to Houston was still there at the time, the report noted.
“We all felt the bang as we taxied onto the runway, but we didn’t know it was a different plane until the captain said so,” The New York Post quoted a passenger as saying.
Video obtained by The New York Post showed several emergency vehicles at the scene. Both planes returned to the gate and all passengers disembarked. There were no injuries among the 328 passengers and 15 crew on the two planes.
Maintenance teams inspect the trimmed aircraft for any malfunctions after the crash. At the time of the incident, the Houston-bound plane was reportedly already 90 minutes late, a delay that continued throughout the night.
LaGuardia ended flights several hours earlier due to strong winds reaching 45 mph. Ground delays at LaGuardia Airport averaged two hours and 15 minutes, with some flights delayed up to five hours. The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory in effect until midnight. LaGuardia Airport did not respond to The New York Post’s request for comment, and the FAA could not comment due to the government shutdown.
“Every day there will be more challenges”
Airports across the country are reportedly already facing a shortage of air traffic control staff, which Transport Minister Sean Duffy has warned would cause a “disaster” if the shutdown lasts until November and the holidays.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has warned that passengers could see increasing disruptions to flights the longer air traffic controllers go without pay. “There will be more challenges every day,” he said, according to an AP report, while briefing reporters outside the White House after a closed-door meeting with Vice President JD Vance and airline industry leaders to discuss the impact of the shutdown on U.S. travel.
“Shutdown must end for these inspectors to get paid”
Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Friday that staffing shortages are causing flight delays at several airports, including Phoenix, Boston, San Francisco, Nashville, Houston, Dallas and the Washington, DC area. Airports serving New York City, John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International also experienced delays averaging around two hours, according to the FAA.
The FAA stated, “Currently, nearly 50 percent of major air traffic control facilities are understaffed, and nearly 90 percent of air traffic controllers are out of facilities in the New York area.”
“The shutdown must end so that these dispatchers receive the wages they have earned and passengers can avoid further disruptions and delays. As we keep saying, we will never compromise on safety. When staffing shortages occur, the FAA will restrict the flow of air traffic to maintain safety. This may result in delays or cancellations,” it said.
Aviation analytics company Cirium reported that flight data indicated strong on-time performance at most major U.S. airports in October, accounting for isolated staffing issues during the month.
