Posted on 11/05/2004 10:20:55 AM PST by Calpernia
An investigation is under way after two passenger planes collided while taxiing at Manchester Airport.
The BMI Baby Boeing 737 travelling to Belfast International and an Excel Airways Boeing 767 travelling to Goa touched wings outside Terminal Two.
Seventy-nine passengers were on board the BMI Baby plane while 255 were on the Excel Airways plane, though no-one is thought to have been injured.
Air accident investigators were at the scene on Thursday afternoon.
'Wings clipped'
One passenger who arrived in Belfast on Thursday said: "We were on the runway preparing to take off and then the plane just went from side to side and then the other plane came up the side and stopped next to us .
"You could see a piece of the wing sitting on the runway - people were extremely scared."
A fellow passenger said: "Fire engines came rushing to the scene - we got swung a bit and the front wheel buckled and it knocked the back rudder off it and knocked part of the wing off."
The remainder of the passengers are expected to return to Belfast later on Friday.
A Greater Manchester Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We received reports that there had been a minor collision between two planes on the runway.
"We believe that the wings of the two planes may have clipped."
The passengers from the affected flights were taken back to Terminal One to await alternative flights to continue their journeys.
Other flights at the airport continued as normal.
A spokesman for BMI Baby said: "We can confirm there was an incident at Manchester Airport which involved a BMI Baby aircraft being damaged.
"We are not aware of any injuries to passengers or crew.
"The incident is currently being investigated."
NW_AZ, here is that article you emailed :) Thanks for the link!
Ping
PS: Do you think the pilots got out and exchanged insurance details? :-)
Thanks for the article.
Sounds like one of the planes was taxiing much too fast.
I'm glad they got out !
On the KGO radio news, out of San Francisco last night,
there was also a Cessna that crashed into a house roof, made a hole in the roof.
Pilot was in the hospital.
That is all there was on the report, a local one.
No but I bet the lawyers beat the fire trucks to the scene.
lol, they might have done that after they replaced their undergarments.
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