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American Airlines plane's wing clipped tail of Frontier plane in Miami

Frontier Airlines said their plane was parked at a gate at Miami's International airport preparing to board passengers when the incident happened.
American Airlines and Frontier logos
Posted at 5:34 PM, Mar 08, 2024

Video shared on social media showed the moment an American Airlines jet clipped a Frontier Airlines plane that was parked at a gate preparing to board passengers.

Both planes were damaged in the incident which caused significant delays for passengers. Only crew members were on board the Frontier jet at the time, according to reports, while American Airlines assessed damage and reassigned passengers to other flights. 

Video shared on social media showed various angles where damage could be seen and airport tarmac staff that went racing to try and warn pilots of the error in their maneuvers. 

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Reports said both flights were preparing to depart from Miami International Airport. The American Airlines jet hit the Frontier jet as it was backing up at around 8;30 p.m. on Thursday. 

The American flight was headed to Sao Paulo, Brazil and the Frontier flight was en route to Dallas, Texas. American Airlines apologized to passengers for the delay. 

The Frontier flight was delayed for hours after the incident. Some passengers said they were waiting at the airport for at least 6 hours because of the incident after arriving two hours early for the flight, and then waiting additional hours to be re-accommodated on other flights. 

The FAA has investigated a series of similar incidents at airports around the country. In January, an All Nippon Airways jet — a Japanese airline — struck the rear of a Delta Air Lines Flight at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. 

The next day an American Airlines plane clipped another jetwith its wingtip while moving in reverse at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

In February the Federal Aviation Administration said it would investigate a collision between two JetBlue Airways jets which happened on the tarmac at Boston's Logan International Airport.