E-Paper
Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 and British Airways A350 suffer ground collision at London's Heathrow Airport
Taking to X, one of the eye witnesses wrote: “Just witnessed a plane crash at Heathrow! A tug pushing back a Virgin 787, crashed the wing into a BA A350.”
A Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 and British Airways Airbus A350 suffered a ground collision at London's Heathrow Airport, leading to minor damage to both aircraft.
The incident occurred when the Virgin jet was being directed by a tug when the wiglets of the aircraft contacted the tail of the nearby BA aircraft, Daily Mail reported. Following the incident, emergency services rushed to the spot
The officials verified that the plane was being moved to a different area of the airfield as it had just finished a trip. Moreover, the flight schedule remains unaffected by the collision.
Taking to X, one of the eye witnesses wrote: “Just witnessed a plane crash at Heathrow! A tug pushing back a Virgin 787, crashed the wing into a BA A350.”
Meanwhile, a video that has surfaced on social media shows the aftermath of the incident at Heathrow airport.
Virgin Atlantic issues statement
In a statement, a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said the airline is aware that the wingtip of one of the empty aircraft came collided with another aircraft while it was being towed from the stand at London Heathrow Terminal 3.
"The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority. We can confirm no customers were on board the Virgin Atlantic aircraft during this time," the spokesperson said, adding that a comprehensive investigation has been launched.
Virgin Atlantic's engineering teams are monitoring the aircraft, which is currently out of service.
According to media reports, two aircraft -- G-XWBC and G-VDIA -- were involved in the incident.
British Airways received G-XWBC, an Airbus A350-1000, in November 2019. The aircraft is 4.4 years old, according to Planespotters.net.
Moreover, British Airways possesses 18 A350-1000 variants, all of which are now in active service. Currently, the aircraft type's average fleet age is 2.6 years.
Regarding G-VDIA, it is a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner that was handed over to Virgin in March of 2016. The airline operates a fleet of 17 787-9 variants.
