A Delta Air Lines aircraft and an Air Canada aircraft collided on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport Tuesday morning, leaving a Delta winglet embedded in the Air Canada plane’s stabilizer.
Air Canada said the incident occurred after one of its aircraft had arrived from Toronto. A departing Delta flight, bound for Tokyo Haneda, clipped the Air Canada plane while taxiing. The curved wingtip — the winglet — separated from the Delta aircraft and remained lodged in the Air Canada stabilizer.
The Delta aircraft was carrying 275 passengers and 15 crew members at the time. Whether any passengers were aboard the Air Canada plane was not immediately confirmed.
No injuries were reported.
Both aircraft were taken out of service. LAX reported normal continuing operations following the collision.
Delta issued a statement acknowledging the contact: “a Delta aircraft made contact with an Air Canada aircraft” while taxiing at LAX, and apologized to customers for the experience and delay.
For the 15 crew members on the Delta aircraft, a transpacific departure to Haneda turned into a ground event with significant downstream scheduling implications. Both airframes will require maintenance inspection and repair before returning to service — the Air Canada stabilizer damage and Delta’s missing winglet each represent structural findings that ground the aircraft until cleared.
The FAA and NTSB have been notified. The FAA is investigating.
