A big scare and an aborted takeoff. Two planes, one from British Airways and the other from Virgin Atlantic, collided on the ground on Saturday at Heathrow Airport, London’s largest, British media reported. Fortunately, both aircraft suffered only minor damage, and the incident did not cause any injuries or delays.
Virgin Atlantic said its Boeing 787-9 had just landed and was being towed from a terminal to another part of the airport when the collision took place, reports the BBC. She assured “that no customer was on board” her aircraft during the collision. One of the plane’s wings hit another plane, this time British Airways, with 121 people on board. Passengers on the flight were scheduled to leave for Accra, Ghana, at 12:40 p.m. (1:40 p.m. in Paris).
“No impact”
British Airways confirmed that one of its planes, “while stationary at Heathrow earlier today, was involved in a collision with another airline’s plane, which was then towed from a stand,” according to The Daily Mail. She added that she had made another plane available to travelers, with a takeoff postponed to 6 p.m. (7 p.m. in Paris), and specified that the condition of her aircraft was also being evaluated.
Virgin Atlantic said that an investigation was underway and that maintenance checks had been initiated on its aircraft, “which has been taken out of service for the time being”. The company said the towing was carried out by a ground handling company under contract with it.
In videos of the incident that circulated online, we can see the wing of the Boeing 787-9 on the tail of the second plane, visibly damaged by the impact, while a myriad of emergency vehicles and emergency personnel security surrounds both devices.
For his part, an airport spokesperson confirmed “an incident involving two planes on the ground”, explaining “working with the emergency services and our airline partners”. Emergency services attended the scene as a precautionary measure, but “at this time, no passengers have been injured and we do not anticipate any impact on airport operations,” he said. -he clarified.
The Metropolitan Police, responsible for maintaining order in Greater London, announced that they were supporting airport management in their investigation into the circumstances of the accident.