A newly released footage captures the moment a Delta plane crashed with a parked Spirit aircraft at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
A video released by the Ohio airport and obtained by Cleveland’s FOX 8 captures a Delta Airlines jet slowly approaching a gate to drop off passengers after landing. In the process, it attempts to navigate around a stationary Spirit Airlines plane.
However, this wasn’t to be a routine passing.
As the Delta plane approaches the terminal, it grazes the gated Spirit jet.
No one was injured after the Delta plane crashed into the Spirit aircraft.
While the sight of planes gently bumping into one another may seem trivial, Delta Airlines has confirmed that one of their aircraft sustained damage to its wingtip.
A Commercial Airline Pilot Weighs in on a Delta Plane Crashing Into Spirit Aircraft’s Wing
Commercial pilot and flight instructor Robert Katz explained that the damage was more extensive than the impact would suggest.
“Aircraft are not designed to bump into each other like that,” Katz told Fox 8.
Katz asserts that the video of the incident should lead to a more comprehensive examination of the planes involved.
“Examine all the component parts that could have been impacted, directly, and also indirectly. Their function, their reliability, their performance can all be compromised,” Katz detailed to the outlet.
To the layperson, the many components of a commercial aircraft begin to blur together. However, to a trained airline professional, every inch of the aircraft serves a vital role in the safety of passengers.
“Everything on an airplane serves a purpose,” Katz insisted.
Although the accident occurred in May, the incident remains under review by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as reported by FOX 8.
The incident harkens back to a similar tarmac crash last winter.
In February, two JetBlue planes collided on the tarmac at Boston’s Logan International Airport. Of course, it caused significant disruptions to passengers’ travel plans. Among those affected was Dave Souter, who was headed to Las Vegas to work at a Super Bowl event when the incident occurred shortly after the aircraft departed from the gate.
“Safety is JetBlue’s priority. We will work to determine how and why this incident occurred,” the airline said at the time.