Friday, February 17, 2017

Southwest, Frontier aircraft collide on ground at Phoenix airport

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 and a Frontier Airlines Airbus A320 were involved in a ground contact incident at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), the airlines and airport have confirmed.

A PHX spokesperson told ATW that the two aircraft “clipped wing tips on a taxiway” at around 8 p.m. local time Feb. 16. The Southwest aircraft was taxiing after landing and the Frontier aircraft was pushing back from its gate when the incident occurred. There were no reported injuries on either aircraft. Damage to the two aircraft is unknown. FAA is investigating, according to PHX.

A Southwest spokesperson confirmed the incident to ATW in an emailed statement: “Southwest flight 4182 was taxiing to the gate at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport when another airline’s aircraft pushed back from another gate and made contact with our aircraft. There were no Southwest customer or employee injuries. Our aircraft is currently out of service for repairs and the customers who were traveling to Denver were accommodated on another aircraft, and arrived approximately an hour late.”

A Frontier spokesperson told ATW: “Frontier flight 765, an Airbus A320, scheduled to operate from Phoenix to Denver was cleared to push back from the gate in Phoenix. While the aircraft was being pushed back, an aircraft belonging to another airline made contact with our aircraft. No injuries have been reported. There were 163 passengers on board and a crew of six. Frontier is cooperating with the [US National Transportation Safety Board] and FAA in the investigation and is working with customers to accommodate them on other flights.”


(Linda Blachly - ATWOnline News)

No comments: