A plane clipped the wing of another passenger jet carrying several members of Congress on a taxiway at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on Thursday afternoon. The Federal Aviation Administration said the wingtip of an American Airlines flight bound for Charleston, South Carolina, struck another American Airlines flight bound for JFK International Airport in New York around 12:45 p.m. on a taxiway at Reagan Airport. No injuries were reported. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat representing New Jersey’s Fifth District, said in a post on X he was on the plane bound for New York and used the incident as a chance to remind people about the consequences of cuts to the FAA, saying they “weaken our skies and public safety.”
While waiting to take off on the runway at DCA just now, another plane struck our wing. Thankfully, everyone is safe.
Just a reminder: Recent cuts to the FAA weaken our skies and public safety. — Rep Josh Gottheimer (@RepJoshG) April 10, 2025
The flight bound for Charleston was moving on the taxiway and hit the plane bound for New York, which was stationary at the time of the incident, according to Rep. Nick LaLota, a Republican representing New York’s First District, who was also on board.
Serving in Congress has come with some once in a lifetime experiences… like just now while stationary on the runway at DCA, another plane just bumped into our wing. Heading back to the gate, but thankfully everyone is ok! (And @RepGraceMeng is handing out grapes!) pic.twitter.com/bOo1JNXZDh
— Congressman Nick LaLota (@RepLaLota) April 10, 2025
Rep. Grace Meng, a Democrat representing New York’s Sixth District, said everyone on board was OK and crews began repairing the plane’s wing after passengers returned to the gate.
While waiting on the runway to fly out of DC today, another plane clipped the wing of the plane my colleagues and I were on. Fortunately, everyone is okay & we’re heading back to New York soon. Thank you to all who reached out with your concerns! pic.twitter.com/MAbN2E4dcW
— Grace Meng (@RepGraceMeng) April 10, 2025
Roughly 80 people were on the plane to Charleston, and 71 for the flight to New York, according to American Airlines. The company said in a statement to The Associated Press that damage was limited to a winglet on each aircraft. It said both planes would be taken out of service for inspection and that replacement aircraft would take passengers to their destinations.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it’s investigating the collision. The collision is the second between two aircraft at or near Reagan National Airport this year. On the night of Jan. 29, a military helicopter and American Airlines flight collided over the Potomac River near the airport, killing all 67 people on board both aircraft. The Associated Press contributed to this report.