The wing of a Delta plane backing out of the gate at Atlanta’s airport clipped an empty aircraft Sunday morning, but no one was hurt aboard the plane carrying 192 passengers, two pilots and four flight attendants.
Delta flight 1830 was scheduled to leave Hatsfield-Jackson International Airport just after 10 a.m. when its wing “reportedly made contact with another Delta aircraft during pushback at the gate,” Delta said in a short statement to WAGA-TV and other news outlets.
The normally 3-hour, 23-minute trip was stretched to 6 hours and 20 minutes as passengers and crew switched to another plane, delaying takeoff by more than 30 minutes. It arrived in Guatemala at 3:01 local time, Flight Aware said.
“There were no reports of injuries for crew or customers on the flight,” Delta said. “We apologize to our customers for the experience and delay in their travels.”
The mishap adds to a number of aviation incidents this year, many of them involving Delta. In February a Delta plane made an emergency landing and was evacuated after the cabin filled up with smoky haze. Also in February, a Delta jet crash-landed in Toronto and flipped upside down. In March a Delta plane’s wing caught on the runway while landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York. There have also been near misses, stowaways, and a suspected drunken pilot. Last month, engine trouble diverted a JFK-bound Delta flight from Madrid to the Azores, stranding nearly 300 passengers and crew on remote Terceira Island overnight.
With News Wire Services
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