Boston

Investigation ongoing after United plane clips tail of parked Delta plane at Logan Airport

No one was hurt in the incident at Boston's Logan Airport.

NBC Universal, Inc.

Authorities are continuing to investigate what happened at Logan International Airport in Boston on Friday.

The low-speed collision between a United Airlines plane that was going to Newark, New Jersey, and a Delta plane headed for Detroit is rare, according to an aviation expert who spoke to NBC10 Boston Saturday night.

In video recorded by passengers onboard one of the planes Friday night, you can see the United Airlines plane coming into contact with a parked Delta plane.

There were no injuries reported, but 128 people had to get off the United flight.

Massport officials say it happened in an aircraft parking area near the Hyatt hotel.

United Airlines released the following statement: “On Friday evening, the winglet of a United aircraft clipped the tail of another aircraft at Boston Logan International Airport. Customers on the United aircraft deplaned normally at the gate, and we will rebook them onto other flights.”

Delta also issued a statement about the incident, saying, "While there are no reported injuries to our customers or crew on Delta flight 1657, the aircraft came into contact with another aircraft while awaiting takeoff clearance on the Logan airfield. Delta teams are working to get customers to their final destinations tonight, and we apologize for the delay."

The agency is even taking out full page newspaper ads telling people to use Logan Express busses, the Blue or Silver Lines or ferries.

The president and CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation tells NBC10 Boston that investigators will be looking at the circumstances surrounding this incident, along with the damage to both planes to try to figure out how this even happened.

"The investigators will be looking at all aspects of this," Hassan Shahidi said. "This happened in the evening time so they'll look at the visibility condition, the weather condition at the time, they'll be looking at the standard operating procedures and understanding exactly what happened when this United aircraft was maneuvering on the taxiway."

A similar incident happened at Logan Airport back in March. In that incident, the wings of two planes set to leave the airport clipped as one pulled away from its gate on a Monday morning. It also involved a United plane that was leaving for Newark, New Jersey. The United plane, being towed by a United vehicle, made contact with another United plane that was set to fly to Denver. No one was injured in that incident either, Massport said at the time.

MassPort said two planes bumped into each other at Logan International Airport Monday morning.

Elsewhere at Logan Airport Friday night, there was another kind of incident, this one involving a Patriots player. Cornerback Jack Jones was arrested for allegedly trying to bring two guns in his carry-on.

Massachusetts State Police said that while it does not confirm employment of people it arrests, 25-year-old Jackie K. Jones of Arizona had been taken into custody after the weapons were found in his carry-on luggage.

The Patriots confirmed he is their player.

"We have been notified that Jack Jones was arrested at Logan Airport earlier today," spokesperson Stacey James said in a statement. "We are in the process of gathering more information and will not be commenting further at this time."

Jones is entering his second year as a cornerback for New England. Patriots minicamp practice was held this week at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

Contact Us