Two passenger planes clipped wings at Heathrow while one of the aircraft was being towed.
Footage on social media shows the wing of a Virgin Atlantic plane overlapping the wing of a British Airways aircraft while emergency services surround the area at the UK’s busiest airport.
The Virgin Boeing 787-9 plane had just landed and was being towed by a separate private company to a different location on the airfield. No passengers were onboard when the collision occurred.
Airfield and runway collisions used to be a recurring problem, but have become vanishingly rare in modern times due to advances in modern ground tracking technology and safety procedures.
Virgin said it was investigating the collision. The plane has been grounded and is undergoing maintenance checks.
The BA aircraft, which was stationary at the time, is also being checked by engineering teams, while passengers have been transferred to another craft.
The accident has not resulted in disruption to services during a busy weekend as holidaymakers return from the Easter break.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “We are aware that the wingtip of one of our empty aircraft came into contact with another aircraft whilst being towed from the stand at London Heathrow Terminal 3. The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority.”
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.”
• The headline and introduction of this article was amended on 7 April 2024. An earlier version referred to “runway”. This has been removed.
