PLANE HORROR
Plane crashes into packed Delta jet at Seattle airport & slices through aircraft just days after mid-air collision in DC
See the disturbing plane damage
TWO planes have collided on a tarmac, leaving one with a gaping slice directly through its tail just a week after a deadly midair crash in Washington DC that killed 67.
Shocking photos and video show the aftermath of the ground smash, which happened while one of the planes was taxiing.
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On Wednesday just after 10 am, a Japan Airlines aircraft reportedly rammed the back of a Delta Airlines plane on the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport taxi lane.
No one was injured in the collision, but more than 100 passengers had to get off their plane and head back to the airport.
PLANE ROCKED
Jason Chan, one of the passengers on the Delta flight, said the plane jiggled back and forth and shook a little bit when the collision occurred.
Shortly after, the captain announced that the plane's tail had been hit.
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Chan said that passengers had remained calm and eventually left the plane to be bused back to the terminal.
He added the whole incident seemed surreal, but that he and the six friends he was traveling with were making the most of it while waiting in the lounge for their rescheduled flight.
In a statement, the Seattle Airport described the impact on operations as "minimal" and said passengers should rebook with their airlines.
However, another flier said the disturbing incident had left her filled with fear.
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The passenger recorded a video that showed the Japan plane's right wing left halfway sliced through the Delta plane's tail.
"So, we were sitting on the tarmac at SeaTac and another plane ran into us, just casually sliced into our tail," she wrote on X.
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"Very scary."
ICE BEING REMOVED
Authorities responded to the incident around 10:17 am, the airport said on X.
Delta spokesperson Samantha Moore Facteau said that its Boeing 737 had been waiting to have ice removed from its exterior.
It was at this moment that the wing tip of the other aircraft reportedly made contact with its tail.
Deicing, as it's known, can occur before a flight begins to taxi to the runway, Facteau said.
There were 142 passengers onboard Delta flight 1921 to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
She said they were being transferred to a new aircraft.
There were no reports of injuries for crew or passengers, Facteau confirmed.
Japan Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Airport operations were minimally impacted as the incident occurred on a taxi lane, authorities said.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) announced on social media that Port of Seattle Fire, police and SEA operations all responded to the incident.
The collision occurred on a ramp on a taxi line between S Concourse and the south airport maintenance hangars, it added.
FLIGHTS PAUSED
The Federal Aviation Administration told in a statement: "The right wing of Japan Airlines Flight 68 struck the tail of Delta Air Lines Flight 1921 while the planes were taxiing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport around 10:40 a.m. local time on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
"The aircraft were in an area that is not under air traffic control.
"The FAA temporarily paused some flights to the airport as a result of the incident."
The agency said it would investigate the collision.
NERVOUS FLIERS
But with the eerie collision being one of several crashes involving aircraft over the past week, fliers are understandably nervous about taking to the skies.
One commented on X: "Both planes bump to each other at SeaTac Airport now! What's going on with aviation?"
Many others have asked questions on social media about air traffic control.
One woman wrote on Facebook: "For people saying it's not a crash, it was a parked airline... it starts with mistakes like that.
"Not sure if stuff like this happens all the time and it's being quiet, or not.
"But the lack of casualties doesn't make it any less alarming."
And one said: "In a week... we have three crashes? What's going on in the aviation sector?" Another wrote: "This isn't OK, this is scary."
A woman added: "Sorry, just touching, clipping or whatever shouldn't happen. I'm not comforted by knowing this happens all the time."
RIVER CRASH
Today's incident came less than a week after an American Airlines plane smashed into a Black Hawk during its descent in Washington DC and plunged into the Potomac River.
The tragedy left all those involved dead, including three US Army officers, airline staff, and dozens of civilians.
It was the deadliest US air crash since November 2001, when 260 people died after an American Airlines plane plunged into a Queens neighborhood.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that an "elevation issue" saw the US-Army-operated craft in the passenger plane's descent path.
The helicopter was reportedly soaring at 300 feet in the air when it was only cleared to fly a less than 200 feet elevation.
However, it's unclear how the Black Hawk got to that position in the first place, and wasn't stopped by a Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport air traffic controller.
Two days after that tragedy struck fear throughout the nation, another plane nosedived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, killing seven people.
On Friday, a medical transport plane smashed into a busy neighborhood in a massive explosion that injured dozens of civilians.
Officials are still investigating how the crash happened, and just how much damage it caused.
FEAR OF FLYING
It's normal to be afraid of flights, but recent events have left some anxious travelers unwilling to ever get back on a plane.
"This just makes me wary, especially for such a long flight,"; Nadirah Reynolds told .
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"I don't know if I trust being in the air for that long and going that sort of distance.
"It's just becoming too frequent to hear about these mishaps with planes, and it makes me feel like I don't know if flying is the safest way to travel anymore."
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