Iberia Airlines: Airbus plane 'collides with light pole' while taxiing on runway after being forced to divert

An Iberia airline plane “collided with a light pole” while it was taxiing on the runway. According to Breaking Aviation News and Videos on X, formerly Twitter, the aircraft was “unable to land at nearby Lima Airport due failure of the runway lights” and was forced to land at Pisco Airport in Peru instead.

The page posted on X: “Iberia A350-941 collides with a light pole while taxiing to the apron at Pisco Airport in Peru. The aircraft was unable to land at nearby Lima Airport due failure of the runway lights.” The page added pictures showing the wing of the aircraft damaged.

One user reacted to the post on X saying “OMG!” while another said: “What a joke. Where are the wing walkers?”.

The incident occurred early in the morning on Saturday 1 June after the aircraft had been diverted to Pisco Airport in Peru due to the suspension of flights in Lima, the capital of Peru. As the Airbus plane performed a refuelling manoeuvre it collided with a light pole. 

Authorities at Pisco Airport opened an investigation into the collision following the incident. At the time it occurred no passengers were on the plane and it was waiting to resume its flight to Lima. 

An Iberia spokesperson said: “Iberia was forced to divert, cancel and reschedule flights due to a problem beyond its operational control due to the closure of Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima. From the first moment, the airline put the necessary resources in place to deal with the contingency and informed customers of the corresponding rescheduling and flight protections.

“A large part of the affected operation has already been normalised and work is underway to provide a solution for the last customers who have not been able to take their flights. As for the information that has been made known regarding the incident at Pisco International Airport, the process was carried out with the guidance of the ground handling operators. Hence, at all times, the captain followed the external instructions and indications of the airport staff.

“The incident did not cause any damage to passengers, airport staff or the aircraft crew, as the passengers had already disembarked after the flight. Iberia would like to apologies to the passengers and customers affected by this inconvenience beyond its control and reiterates that it is working to provide a prompt solution to the problem.”