Delta A350 Involved in Taxiway Incident at ATL

DALLAS — A taxiway incident occurred at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) on September 10, 2024, involving a Delta Air Lines (DL) Airbus A350, reg. N503DN, and an Endeavor Air (9E) CRJ-900 regional jet. 

Around 10:07 a.m., the wing of DL flight DL295, bound for Tokyo-Haneda Airport (HND), collided with the tail of Endeavor flight DL5526, heading to Lafayette Regional Airport (LFT), Louisiana, on an adjacent taxiway. The collision resulted in damage to both aircraft, with the larger completely tearing the tail section of the smaller one.

No injuries have been reported among the 221 passengers on DL295 or the 56 passengers on DL5526. All passengers have been safely transported back to the terminal and will be rebooked on alternate flights.

Delta Air Lines says it is working with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and other authorities to investigate the incident. No major disruptions to DL’s operations are expected.

While some sources have speculated on social media that the aircraft involved may be beyond repair, it’s important to avoid such assumptions.

Given the expertise of Delta TechOps, it’s highly likely that the planes, especially the CRJ-900, will be repaired. Replacing a CRJ-900 isn’t an easy task, and DL's maintenance teams have a strong track record of restoring damaged aircraft.

In fact, this isn’t the first CRJ to experience such an incident, and many others with similar damage have successfully returned to service.

We can recall when an Air France (AF) Airbus A380 clipped the tail of a Comair (OH) Bombardier CRJ 700 and spun it almost 90 degrees 13 years ago. That incident happened at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).

 Stay tuned to Airways for further developments from ATL.