The EgyptAir flight, on its way to Cairo around 7:45 p.m. local time, was moving on the taxiway when its right wing touched the left wing of the Virgin Atlantic plane, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
— Diana S. Fleischman (@sentientist) November 28, 2017
Per ABC 7 New York, the pilot for the Virgin flight initially informed the control tower that he needed to pull to the side to work out a problem before taking off.
"Uh Virgin 4-Charlie, we've got a technical issue at the moment… we're going to have to do some diagnosing," the pilot told the tower. "Virgin 4-Charlie-heavy, all right, disregard all that, pull off to the right, all the way to the right as far as you can on the run-up pad."
"Ground Virgin, uh 4-Charlie I think he just clipped our wing," the pilot added just seconds later.
Though no human injuries were reported, the same could not be said for the London-bound Virgin Atlantic plane, which lost its winglet in the collision. Pictures shared on social media by passengers show the chopped off winglet lying a few feet from the plane as workers assess the damage.
— Josh Einiger (@JoshEiniger7) November 28, 2017
"Our VS4 flight from New York to London Heathrow sustained damage to the wingtip whilst taxiing to the runway at JFK airport," a spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic said in a statement. "Safety is always our priority, and all passengers and crew disembarked the aircraft as normal."
The EgyptAir flight was able make its way back to Terminal 4; however, Virgin's plane had to be towed, the New York Post reported.
Upset about the hours spent in airport limbo, some passengers on the Virgin Atlantic flight reportedly went as far as demanding free alcohol after the two planes (slightly) collided. No word on whether they attained their goal.
— PAPD (@PAPD911) November 28, 2017
With both planes out of commission, an investigation has been issued by the FAA to see how the incident occurred.
