Joey Annunziato, a CBS News producer on the flight from Charlotte, said the flights had “smashed” into each other.
“We got absolutely smashed by another Delta flight. I don’t know if we hit them or they hit us, but it was super jarring,” he said, in a video recorded from his seat shortly after the impact.
“Everyone shot forward in their seats, and it was kind of a little chaotic as soon as it happened. We were shocked at what happened.”
William Lusk, another passenger on the Charlotte plane, told ABC it “stopped, jerked, and jumped to the right”.
“As everyone went dead silent, the pilot calmly came on and said, ‘Hey, we’ve been in a crash, everyone, remain calm,’” he added.
According to air traffic control audio, a pilot on the Charlotte flight said: “Their right wing clipped our nose and the cockpit. We have damage to our windscreen and… some of our screens in here.”
Generally, jets move at speeds of just 10 to 30 knots (11 to 35mph) while they taxi ahead of take-off.
Federal authorities are investigating how the crash took place, and it is currently unclear whether it was caused by a pilot, a mechanical fault, ground control, who would have been directing the plane, or some other reason.
