A JetBlue flight from New York to Puerto Rico ran into one other airplane within the gate space on Wednesday, the second time in a matter of days that two planes skilled an uncommon incident at JFK Airport.
Flight 1603 “came into light contact with a parked unoccupied aircraft during pushback,” a JetBlue spokesman mentioned in an announcement. The airplane returned to the gate; no accidents have been reported.
The FAA confirmed that the JetBlue airplane struck the tail of one other JetBlue airplane, each Airbus A320s. The company mentioned it will examine the incident, and the airline mentioned each planes would exit 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 mentioned in an announcement.
A passenger on board advised NBC New York that the pilot couldn’t clarify what was occurring after he advised them they’d “bumped into the plane behind us.” The passenger added that he didn’t really feel something. Pictures he took afterward confirmed the crowded gate space as passengers acquired off the airplane and ultimately onto one other headed for San Juan.
Wednesday’s incident follows a detailed name at JFK final Friday, when two planes practically collided.
In that case, a Delta Air Traces Boeing 737 stopped its takeoff as an American Airways flight crossed the runway. Passengers aboard that plane mentioned they felt a sudden jolt as they got here to a halt. The FAA subsequently mentioned the planes had handed inside about 1,000 ft of one another.
The NTSB is investigating that incident as nicely.
“You look at all mistakes because it could be indicative of other things, other problems,” mentioned Dr. Michael Canders, the director of the aviation sector at Farmingdale State Faculty. He mentioned investigators will possible do a top-to-bottom overview of airport operations.
Within the newer case, he mentioned a tug operator would have been working the airplane on pushback, with eyes and ears from the pilot and security observers on the bottom referred to as “wing walkers. Canders mentioned each touchpoint can be underneath scrutiny.
“I don’t like to speculate but it sounds like human error which is a typical outcome or typical probable cause for these types of incidents,” mentioned Canders.
It was not instantly clear how usually an occasion corresponding to Wednesday’s happens, however Canders believes it’ll get extra consideration due to the sooner near-collision on prime of it.
Each aircrafts are out of service for inspection.