A JetBlue flight from New York to Puerto Rico bumped into another plane in the gate area on Wednesday, the second time in a matter of days that two planes experienced an unusual incident at JFK Airport.
Flight 1603 "came into light contact with a parked unoccupied aircraft during pushback," a JetBlue spokesman said in a statement. The plane returned to the gate; no injuries were reported.
The FAA confirmed that the JetBlue plane struck the tail of another JetBlue plane, both Airbus A320s. The agency said it would investigate the incident, and the airline said both planes would go out of service.
"JetBlue Flight 1603 struck the tail of a parked JetBlue aircraft while pushing back from the gate around 7 a.m. at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The flight was going to Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Both aircraft were Airbus 320. No injuries were reported, and the FAA will investigate," the FAA said in a statement.
A passenger on board told NBC New York that the pilot couldn’t explain what was happening after he told them they had "bumped into the plane behind us." The passenger added that he didn’t feel anything. Photos he took afterward showed the crowded gate area as passengers got off the plane and eventually onto another headed for San Juan.
Wednesday's incident follows a close call at JFK last Friday, when two planes nearly collided.
In that case, a Delta Air Lines Boeing 737 stopped its takeoff as an American Airlines flight crossed the runway. Passengers aboard that aircraft said they felt a sudden jolt as they came to a halt. The FAA subsequently said the planes had passed within about 1,000 feet of each other.
The NTSB is investigating that incident as well.
"You look at all mistakes because it could be indicative of other things, other problems," said Dr. Michael Canders, the director of the aviation sector at Farmingdale State College. He said investigators will likely do a top-to-bottom review of airport operations.
In the more recent case, he said a tug operator would have been operating the plane on pushback, with eyes and ears from the pilot and safety observers on the ground called “wing walkers. Canders said every touchpoint will be under scrutiny.
"I don’t like to speculate but it sounds like human error which is a typical outcome or typical probable cause for these types of incidents," said Canders.
It was not immediately clear how often an event such as Wednesday's occurs, but Canders believes it will get more attention because of the earlier near-collision on top of it.
Both aircrafts are out of service for inspection.
