NEWARK, NJ. — The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that the Singapore Airlines plane was taxiing away from a gate at Terminal B when its wing grazed the other aircraft.
The FAA noted that the collision occurred in an area of the airport where air traffic control doesn’t oversee aircraft movement.
At 10:20 a.m. on March 3 at Terminal B, the FAA reported that Singapore Airlines Flight 21’s right wing struck the tail of Spirit Airlines Flight 992 during pushback. Fortunately, there were no injuries.
The Spirit aircraft has been removed from service so the maintenance team can perform a full evaluation. Spirit Airlines issued a statement addressing the impact on travelers. “We are working on alternate travel arrangements to get our Guests to their final destinations as quickly as possible,” the airline said.
Air traffic control audio from liveATC documented the communication between the tower and the pilots before the collision. A controller cleared the Singapore Airlines crew for pushback but issued a specific warning regarding the nearby Spirit aircraft.
The Singapore Airlines pilot confirmed contact about 8 minutes after the initial pushback clearance. “Uh, right wing may have touched the Spirit behind us,” the pilot told the controller. The pilot then requested a tow back to the gate to assess the situation.
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