Second Plane Collision in a Week at LaGuardia Airport

On Thursday, a United Airlines plane preparing for takeoff struck a fuel truck on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport, marking the second collision by a plane at the facility this week.

According to CBS New York, United Airlines Flight 1561 was moving away from the gate at the New York City airport as it prepared for its flight to Denver International Airport when the plane hit the fuel truck.

United spokesman Jonathan Guerin said the tip of the Boeing 737-800’s winglet collided with the fuel truck, which caused a small amount of damage to both the plane and the vehicle. There were no reported injuries.

After the collision, United Flight 1561 returned to the gate where passengers were deplaned and transported to another aircraft while the damaged plane was inspected. The inconvenienced passengers finally arrived in Denver 90 minutes late.

For officials at LaGuardia Airport, it has been a rough week, as Thursday’s incident was the second collision this week involving planes.

On Tuesday afternoon, an American Airlines plane was moving from Gate D at Terminal B when it struck an American Eagle aircraft operated by Republic Airlines that was already at the gate with no passengers onboard at the time.

While the American Airlines flight did have passengers at the time of the incident, no injuries were reported. The collision was between the winglet of one plane and the stabilizer on the other, which caused damage to each aircraft.

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