Two American Eagle planes clip wings at Washington Reagan; five U.S. lawmakers onboard, no injuries reported

A minor ground collision at Washington’s Reagan National Airport (DCA) on Thursday involved two American Eagle planes, one of which was carrying five members of the U.S. House of Representatives. No injuries were reported.

The incident happened at 12:45 on April 10. American Airlines flight AA5490 (operated by PSA Airlines Mitsubishi CRJ-900 reg. N592NN), bound for Charleston, SC (CHS) with 76 passengers and 4 crew, clipped wings with American Airlines flight AA4522 (operated by Republic Airways Embraer E175 reg. N422YX), which was stationary on a taxiway, heading to New York JFK with 67 passengers and 4 crew.

There were 5 lawmakers aboard the New York flight: Reps. Nick LaLota, Grace Meng, Josh Gottheimer, Adriano Espaillat, and Ritchie Torres. Rep. Gottheimer shared on X: “Thankfully, everyone is safe. Just a reminder: Recent cuts to the FAA weaken our skies and public safety.”

The two flights eventually took off with a delay of three hours, operated by replacement aircraft.

The FAA is investigating. The incident follows a deadly midair collision at DCA in January involving a commercial jet and a military Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 people.

American Airlines emphasised safety as its top priority and apologized to affected passengers.