Well, folks, it seems the friendly skies of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) were a little too friendly last week. Reports are surfacing of a minor, yet undeniably awkward, wingtip encounter between two American Airlines regional jets. Picture this: two birds, prepped for departure, seemingly playing a high-stakes game of chicken… on the ground. One to Charleston, one to JFK. Instead of going places, they ended up heading back to the gate for a closer inspection. You know, a little pre-flight ‘wing’ing-and-a-prayer’ situation, if you will.
According to official reports, an American Eagle CRJ900, headed for Charleston, made contact with an Embraer E175, destined for New York. The pilots of the CRJ900, bless their hearts, described the sound as a resounding “thunk.” One can only imagine the simultaneous intake of breath from the cockpit, followed by a collective, “Uh, Houston, we have a problem… with our wings.” The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the incident, stating that the wingtip of Flight 5490 had, shall we say, kissed Flight 4522 on a taxiway. No injuries reported, thankfully. Just a bit of a…close call.
Now, I’ve been around aviation long enough to know that close calls are part of the tapestry of flight. And DCA? Well, it has its own unique charm. Let’s just say maneuvering on the ground there is often more complex than a crosswind landing in a hurricane. Of course, this particular incident is unlikely to be as bad as the mid-air collision that happened in January, but the incident is also highly public and probably means extra work for everyone involved. So, it’s a good thing that everyone escaped this one unscathed.
I reached out to some of my usual sources, and their input was predictably… insightful. Brenda Wingtip-Claus, Esq., a legal expert with a penchant for puns, and head of the ‘Don’t Sue the Sky’ Foundation, offered this gem: “Well, it seems American Airlines might need to rethink its ground game. Perhaps some extra ‘wing-to-wing’ training is in order?” Another expert with a great sense of humor, and a highly-regarded aircraft mechanic at Dulles International Airport, Al Timeter-Lapse, had this to say: “Honestly, at this point, I’m not surprised. You know, you’re never really sure what kind of surprises DCA holds. I am sure that the mechanics will quickly be able to help the planes, and it will all work out in the end.”
The two aircraft involved, the CRJ900, and the Embraer E175, were taken out of service for inspection. The damage was, thankfully, limited to winglets. With American Airlines being the dominant carrier at DCA, this type of ground contact is not uncommon. It just goes to show you that even the most seasoned pilots can have a ‘landing’ on the ground. Or, in this case, not a landing but a minor wing-clip. That sounds like a good thing to have an interesting story, and an even better thing to have a job in the airline industry.
