The two American Airlines jets caused minor ground conflicts at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the wingtip of one aircraft attacked another Thursday afternoon. Six members of the Congress were on board one of the jets.
Nick Larota, a New York Republican, said no one was hurt when the wings of their stationary plane “hit” into another jet.
Sixteen people died on January 29 when an Army helicopter crashed into the air with a jet liner when it landed at the same airport.
Lalota posted on X: “The serving in Congress, as it is now, while still on the DCA runway, another plane just hit our wings.”
“We'll go back to the gate, but thankfully everyone is fine,” Larota added.
He said his colleague, Grace Meng, a Democrat from New York, was handing out grapes to passengers on the plane.
She posted on X: “I'm grateful that no one hurts me today.”
In addition to Meng and Lalota, Rep. Josh Gotheimer, a New York Democrat and a New Jersey Democrat, confirmed they were on the flight too.
Two of these lawmakers said New York State Assemblymen Adriano Espillat and Richie Torres were both on the craft.
The Federal Aviation Administration states: “The wingtip of American Airlines Flight 5490 attacked American Airlines Flight 4522 on a taxiway at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday, April 10th at about 12:45pm local time.
“Flight 5490, a Bombardier CRJ 900, headed to Charleston International Airport in South Carolina. Flight 4522, an EmbraerE175, headed to JFK International Airport in New York. The FAA will investigate.”
The Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport said in a statement that there was no impact on flight operations, and both aircraft returned to gates where no injuries were reported.
American Airlines has 76 customers on flight 5,490, 67 customers on other planes, and no injuries have been reported.
“Safety is our number one priority,” the airline said in an emailed statement.
“Both aircraft are taxis at the terminal and are not being served to be inspected by the maintenance team,” the statement continued. “Damage was limited to the wing plates of each aircraft.”
Investigations into the deadly crash in January, including an American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, are still underway. This had landed at Reagan National Airport when it collided with the Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter.
The cause of the disaster remains unknown, but a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended that helicopter operations near the airport be banned.
