A harrowing video shows the moment two planes collided on the runway, with the pilots’ panicked cries and the screech of metal filling the audio.
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The two planes slammed into each other on the runway after one was forced to make an emergency landing due to an electrical failure. Footage shared on YouTube from the cockpit of the damaged craft showed it swaying sharply while attempting to land.
A short distance ahead, another light aircraft approached the runway, perfectly aligned for landing. It touched down smoothly, mere seconds before the plane following it descended onto the tarmac.
Moments later, panicked shouts fill the air. Almost immediately, a deafening bang echoed, followed by the crunch of impact as the second plane collided with the one ahead.
After a few tense moments with the camera pointed downward, the occupants checked on each other, asking if everyone was OK. Fortunately, no one sustained serious injuries in the collision at Pearland Regional Airport in Houston, Texas.
The Person Who Captured the Shocking Footage Recalls the Harrowing Moment the Planes Collided on the Runway
The person who recorded the video on Dec. 11 wrote in the video description that both planes were “likely totaled.”
Earlier that day, he and his friends had departed from Galveston aboard a 1973 Grumman American AA-5 Traveler. However, as they neared their destination, the aircraft encountered “electrical issues.”
“First, the headsets went out, then the radio, then the avionics,” the video uploader wrote in the YouTube post description. “We knew we had to get down quickly and made an emergency landing behind another plane with no working instruments.”
“Fortunately, our skilled pilot was able to set us down,” they added.
“However, with no way to communicate, the pilot ahead was unaware of our presence and stopped abruptly to make a left turn on the tarmac,” they wrote. “With our flaps not operational, we couldn’t slow down fast enough and plowed into his plane as he turned.”
“The prop tore a hole in the left side of his fuselage and destroyed the side of his aircraft,” the eyewitness continued. “Thankfully, he had no passenger in the back seat, or it would have been fatal.”
“In our aircraft, the impact was devastating, with aluminum crumpling and glass exploding everywhere,” they added.
Meanwhile, despite the incredible damage, the person who recorded the video escaped virtually unscathed.
“My shoulder pushed through the window, and I sustained slight external injuries,” they revealed. “But thankfully, everyone was okay.”