Aircraft collisions on the ground are not uncommon accidents. However, a recent collision between two Delta aircraft at Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson International Airport (ATL) has left much of the world bewildered as the tail of one plane was almost completely severed from the aircraft's fuselage. 

The Incident

At around 10 a.m. local time on Tuesday, September 10th, two Delta Air Lines aircraft collided on the taxiway while taxiing to the departure runway. 

The first aircraft involved in the incident was a Delta Air Lines Airbus A350-900 with registration N503DN. According to flight tracking data, the six-year-old A350 was scheduled to operate flight DL295 from ATL to Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND).

The second aircraft was a 10-year-old Endeavor Air Bombardier CRJ-900 operated on behalf of Delta as DL5526. The regional jet with registration N302PQ was scheduled to operate a 2-hour flight from Atlanta to Lafayette Airport (LFT) in Louisiana. 

After pushing back from gate C40, DL5526—the regional jet—turned left onto taxiway echo, which ran parallel to the departure runway, and taxied west towards the start of runway 8R. The aircraft turned right onto the taxiway hotel and awaited departure clearance from Atlanta air traffic control. 

At the same time, Delta's Tokyo-bound A350, DL295, left gate E14 and quickly joined taxiway echo, taxiing in the same direction as DL5526. 

A dramatic video from Instagram user Speedbird HD was captured when the A350's right-wing sliced straight through the middle of the CRJ-900's tail. 

Upon contact, the A350 continued straight forward before pausing on the taxiway ahead of the CRJ-900. 

No injuries were reported, and both Delta flights were canceled. The 56 passengers onboard the CRJ-900 deplaned the aircraft on the tarmac while the A350 taxied back to the gate under its power. In total, 277 passengers were affected, although in a statement to Newsweek, Delta "re-accommodated all passengers on alternate flights."

Soon after the incident, Delta released a statement saying: "At approximately 10:07 a.m., the wing of an Airbus A350 taxiing out as DL295 from Atlanta to Tokyo-Haneda made contact with the tail of an Endeavor Air CRJ-900, DL5526 to Lafayette, Louisiana, on an adjacent taxiway, resulting in damage to the tail of the regional jet and the wing of the A350."

"There have been no reported injuries at this time, and customers are being transported back to the terminal, where they will be accommodated on alternate flights."
 

At the time of writing, the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) launched official investigations into the accident. While the CRJ-900 remains on the taxiway, minimal disruptions to all other operations were reported.