One person was injured after two Delta regional jets collided while taxiing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Wednesday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport, said.
“At 9:58 p.m. there was a collision between two Canadair CRJ-900 regional jets operated by Endeavor Air (a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines) on the taxiway at LaGuardia Airport. One was an outbound flight, the other inbound,” a spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told Newsweek.
Newsweek contacted Delta Air Lines for comment via telephone outside of regular office hours on Thursday.
Why It Matters
There were a number of fatal plane crashes across the United States at the beginning of 2025, including a January 29 mid-air collision between a passenger aircraft and a military Black Hawk helicopter over Washington, D.C., that left 67 people dead.
The incidents triggered concerns about air safety, though publicly available data indicates that flying remains significantly safer than it was just a couple of decades ago.
What To Know
Joey Annunziato, a passenger on one of the aircraft, said his plane was taxiing when “we got absolutely smashed by another Delta flight.”
He added: “Everyone shot forward in their seats and it was kind of a little chaotic as soon as it happened.”
Annunziato continued: “We were kind of shocked at what happened. We were moving at a pretty decent clip too.”
Video published by CBS News showed one of the aircraft missing a wing following the incident.
Loading twitter content…
According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Wednesday’s accident involved an inbound plane from Charlotte that was taxiing to its gate after landing collided with an outbound aircraft that was preparing for takeoff for a flight to Roanoke.
The Daily Mail said the injured individual was a flight attendant and that 85 passengers were evacuated from the aircraft.
What People Are Saying
A spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told Newsweek: “A single person onboard one of the aircraft suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported to an area hospital as a precautionary measure. Passengers were deplaned on the taxiway and transferred via buses back to Terminal C. There was no impact to airport operations.”
In the video clip shared on X, Annunziato said: “So we just landed in New York on a Delta flight from Charlotte…we’re taxiing to our runway and we got absolutely smashed by another Delta flight. I don’t know if we hit them or if they hit us but it was super jarring, everyone shot forward in their seats and it was kind of a little chaotic as soon as it happened. We were kind of shocked at what happened. We were moving at a pretty decent clip too.
“Right now we’ve got people milling outside the planes taking photos, I don’t know if it’s airport security or whatnot, it’s about a half packed, three-quarter packed regional flight coming from Charlotte, a Delta flight. Flight was uneventful up until we landed. I think everybody’s OK…everybody’s safe but it’s just jarring. We’re probably, I don’t know, 50 to 100 yards from our gate so I don’t know what happened but we’ll figure out more as we get on the ground.”
Speaking to the Daily Mail a Delta Air Lines spokesperson said: “Delta will work with all relevant authorities to review what occurred as the safety of our customers and people comes before all else. We apologize to our customers for the experience.”
What Happens Next
Aviation authorities will investigate Wednesday’s crash to try and determine who was to blame and to learn lessons that can help prevent any repeat.
Update 10/2/25, 5:46 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with comment from a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesperson.
