Boeing planes taxiing for take-off at Chicago Airport collide on runway - investigation launched

Two Boeing planes taxiing for take-off collided at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Sunday evening (14 January). No injuries were reported by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and it said it will investigate the incident.

It comes as Boeing is under scrutiny over the safety of its planes after an Alaska Airlines flight using a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet had to emergency land shortly after take-off on 5 January due to the door plug blowing out. A former US congressman, Peter DeFazio, who chaired the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee until 2022, said Boeing has been relying on the “crappy stuff” supplied by its subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems.

Boeing chief executive Dave Calhoun has acknowledged the company made a mistake after six crew members were injured on flight 1282 from Portland to California on 5 January. In his first public comments on the incident, Mr Calhoun told staff it would work with regulators to make sure it "can never happen again". According to an excerpt released by Boeing, Mr Calhoun told employees: "We're going to approach this number one acknowledging our mistake. We're going to approach it with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way."

On Sunday the left wing tip of Flight 11 from All Nippon Airways, a Japanese airline, struck the rear of Delta Air Lines Flight 2122 at around 6:30p.m. The All Nippon Airways flight was a Boeing 777, and the Delta Airlines aircraft was a Boeing 717.

Emma Johnson, a spokesperson for Delta Airlines, told The Independent that the collision occurred as the Delta flight “underwent final parking” and the aircraft is undergoing inspection. A spokesperson for All Nippon Airways also confirmed to The Independent that its passengers got off.

It is currently unclear what caused the collision between Delta’s Boeing 717 and All Nippon Airways’ Boeing 777. According to FlightAware, 966 flights arriving at or departing the Chicago O’Hare International Airport were delayed on Sunday, while 273 were cancelled. The Denver International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport also saw significant delays and cancellations due to the dangerous winter weather.

NationalWorld has contacted Boeing for comment.