JetBlue planes make contact at Logan Airport, leaving passengers shaken but unhurt

Two JetBlue planes made contact on the tarmac at Logan Airport Thursday morning, leaving passengers shaken but unhurt.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, an A321neo’s left wing struck the tail of an Airbus A321 around 6:40 a.m. The planes were on a de-icing pad at the time. The FAA said it has opened an investigation into the incident.

People who said they were passengers on board shared social media posts that appeared to show scuffs and a small chunk taken out of the winglet of one plane. A winglet describes the tip of the wing that stands up at an angle to reduce aerodynamic drag.

A statement from JetBlue confirmed initial details but did not elaborate on why the planes collided, adding only that one plane was entering a de-icing lane and clipped a plane in an adjacent de-icing lane.

“Safety is JetBlue’s priority, and we will work to determine how and why this incident occurred,” the statement read, in part.

No injuries were reported. JetBlue said the planes, which were headed to Las Vegas and Orlando, would be taken out of service and replaced with other aircraft.

Jennifer Mehigan of the Massachusetts Port Authority told The Associated Press that the collision was “very minor.”

It is not the first time collisions and near-misses at Logan have sparked investigations. Last August, a JetBlue plane aborted takeoff when another plane came too close to it on the runway. Months before, in March, two aircraft made contact on the runway, and in February of 2023, a JetBlue plane had to abort a landing when a charter jet took off without permission.

Captain John Cox, a pilot and chief executive of the aviation consulting firm Safety Operating Systems, said the tight quarters of the de-icing pad may have contributed to the latest incident.

"Usually there are ground marshallers that can assist the pilot, but  seeing the wingtips of an airliner is not always real easy. In some cases, it's not visible at all," Cox said. "So you follow the lines that are on the pavement. If they're covered in ice, that can be a challenge as well."

Cox noted that Logan Airport has a number of runway "hotspots" where incursions or collisions are more likely. But he said this was probably not a factor in the most recent collision because it didn't occur on a runway.

"Do I view this as a major safety issue affecting aviation as an industry?" Cox sad. "No, probably not."