Plane bumps another while backing up at JFK Airport
A JetBlue flight from New York to Puerto Rico has bumped into another plane in the gate area on Wednesday, the second time in a matter of days that two planes experienced an unusual incident at JFK Airport.
Flight 1603 “came into light contact with a parked unoccupied aircraft during pushback,” a JetBlue spokesman said in a statement. The plane returned to the gate; no injuries were reported.
The FAA confirmed that the JetBlue plane struck the tail of another JetBlue plane, both Airbus A320s. The agency said it would investigate the incident, and the airline said both planes would go out of service.
“JetBlue Flight 1603 struck the tail of a parked JetBlue aircraft while pushing back from the gate around 7 a.m. at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The flight was going to Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Both aircraft were Airbus 320. No injuries were reported, and the FAA will investigate,” the FAA said in a statement.
Wednesday’s incident follows a close call at JFK last Friday, when two planes nearly collided.
In that case, a Delta Air Lines Boeing 737 stopped its takeoff as an American Airlines flight crossed the runway. The FAA subsequently said the planes had passed within about 1,000 feet of each other.
The NTSB is investigating that incident as well.