At Heathrow Airport, an empty Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-9 collided during towing with a parked British Airways Airbus A350-1000 with passengers bound for Accra, Ghana. No injuries were reported.
A Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner registered G-VDIA was being pushed back from the gate at London Heathrow Airport when the left-hand wing tip struck the right-hand horizontal stabiliser of a parked British Airways Airbus A350-1000 registered G-XWBC ready to depart to Accra on flight BA81. Both planes sustained minor damage.
Just witnessed a plane crash at Heathrow! A tug pushing back a Virgin 787, crashed the wing into a BA A350 #Heathrow #BritishAirways #VirginAtlantic pic.twitter.com/9VmiP6uwQr
— Alex Whittles (@PurpleFrogAlex) April 6, 2024
Flight BA81 was eventually operated by another A350-1000 registered G-XWBB, with a delay of 6 hours 30 minutes.
Virgin Atlantic is investigating and conducting maintenance checks on its aircraft. Heathrow Airport and emergency services responded to the incident. The Metropolitan Police is supporting investigations alongside the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.
