A Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-9 collided with a British Airways Airbus A350-1041 at London Heathrow Airport, causing minor damage to both aircraft.
“Just witnessed a plane crash at Heathrow! A tug pushing back a Virgin 787, crashed the wing into a BA A350,” Alex Whittles writes.
Just witnessed a plane crash at Heathrow! A tug pushing back a Virgin 787, crashed the wing into a BA A350 #Heathrow #BritishAirways #VirginAtlantic pic.twitter.com/9VmiP6uwQr
— Alex Whittles (@PurpleFrogAlex) April 6, 2024
Emergency services rushed to the scene following the incident.
The Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-9 had completed a flight and was being towed to a different part of the airport with no passengers on board.
“The British Airways jet had recently arrived in London from Accra, Ghana and was due to depart on the return journey at 12.40pm from Gate 25 at Terminal 3,” Daily Mail writes.
WATCH:
Virgin Atlantic 787-9 collides with a British Airways A350-1041 on the ground at London Heathrow.
📹 @slaytor_roger pic.twitter.com/eLHEt1fnv9
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) April 6, 2024
The British Airways plane allegedly had passengers on board, but the airline is yet to confirm.
The Standard reports:
At least five fire engines rushed to the scene while the Air Accident Investigation Branch has taken note.
Both planes were going at a low speed and there have not been any reports of injuries.
A Virgin spokesman said: “The wingtip of one of our empty aircraft came into contact with another aircraft while being towed from the stand at London Heathrow Terminal 3.
“The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority.
“We can confirm no customers were on board the Virgin Atlantic aircraft during this time.
“We’ve commenced a full and thorough investigation.
“Our engineering teams are performing maintenance checks on the aircraft, which for now has been taken out of service.”
According to Daily Mail, British Airways provided an alternative aircraft to limit the impact on its customers.
From Daily Mail:
A spokesperson said: ‘One of our aircraft, whilst stationary at Heathrow earlier today, was involved in a collision with another airline’s jet, which was being towed from a stand at the time.
‘Our aircraft is being assessed by our engineering teams and we have provided an alternative aircraft to limit the impact on our customers.’
A Heathrow spokesperson said: ‘We are working alongside emergency services and our airline partners in response to an incident involving two aircraft on the ground earlier today.
‘At present, no passenger injuries have been reported and we do not anticipate there to be any ongoing impact to airport operations.’
Luggage handlers were operating in the area of the British Airways jet when the impact occurred.