Singapore Airlines, Spirit Airlines planes clip each other, causing 6.5 hours delay

SINGAPORE: A Singapore Airlines plane clipped another plane at Terminal B of Newark Liberty International Airport on Tuesday (March 3) at 10:20 am Eastern Standard Time.

According to the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration, the incident occurred as Singapore Airlines Flight 21 pushed back from its gate. The aircraft’s right wing hit the tail of Spirit Airlines Flight 992. Both planes were preparing to depart when the incident occurred.

Fortunately, no one was injured in the mishap.

The SIA flight was en route to Singapore, while the other plane was bound for Orlando.

The FAA has since said that the incident will be investigated, adding that it took place in an area that is not managed by air traffic control.

At the time of the incident, the Spirit plane, which was located near a gate, was undergoing a de-icing process, said the airline.

A passenger on the SIA flight, Sree Sreenivasan, posted a video on X of what happened.

“While pulling out, our plane’s wingtip touched another plane’s wingtip. We didn’t even feel it. We tore through the tail of the Spirit Airlines flight,” said Mr Sreenivasan.

He then proceeded to show the damage sustained by the Spirit Airlines aircraft.

“There’s no danger to anyone here,” he reassured viewers, “but we will not be flying.”

Noting that he was on one of the world’s longest flights in the world, if not the longest, at around 19 hours and 10 minutes, he added that it just got “a lot longer.”

Reports say that the mishap caused a delay of six hours and 34 minutes for the SIA flight. The flight eventually departed from Newark at 4:09 pm, after it was cleared for service, said SIA. By that time, a fresh set of pilots and cabin crew had taken over.

Unfortunately, the Spirit Airlines flight was not so lucky and was taken out of service due to damage to its active control surface, or rudder. The company’s maintenance teams then carried out evaluations on the plane’s condition.

The passengers on the aircraft were able to deplane normally and were given meals and refreshments as Spirit Airlines worked to get them to their destination as soon as possible. /TISG

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