Wingtips of two separate Ryanair planes collided with one another while the jets were both taxing to the runway at Dublin airport on Tuesday, causing the top wing of one of the jets to be torn off, BBC News reported. None of the passengers suffered any injuries.
The Boeing 737s, one bound for Edinburgh, Scotland, and the other for Brussels, ran into each other in the darkness early Tuesday morning as they joined a queue for take-off, Irish state broadcaster RTé reported. Passenger photos showed the torn wing to have been lodged in the rear wing of the plane it crashed into.
"Two of our aircraft were taxiing slowly to the runway at Dublin Airport this morning," Ryanair said in a statement. "The winglet of one aircraft appears to have scraped the tail of the other. Both aircraft were under the instruction of Dublin Airport Air Traffic Control at the time."
"There was no impact on customers on board. Ryanair has contacted the IAA and is working with them to return both aircraft to stand. Normal operations have resumed at Dublin Airport."
"Affected customers will board two replacement aircraft which will depart to Brussels Charleroi and Edinburgh later this morning. Ryanair apologizes sincerely to customers for any inconvenience," the statement concluded.
Following the accident, emergency services and the Dublin Fire Brigade was called to the airport as a precautionary measure, with the fights temporarily being grounded.
Passenger Andrea Cunningham was on her way to Edinburgh when the planes crashed. "I thought the plane was going a little bit too fast before the plane was taking off," she told RTE's Morning Ireland.
"You could feel the plane tug and then we stopped. We were on the plane for about an hour, maybe short of an hour."
Glenn Jordan from Bangor, County Down, was another passenger caught up in the disruption, but tweeted that it was "nothing too dramatic".
"Loud bang and the plane shook for a few seconds. Kept on board for over an hour though," he said in reply to a tweet.
In a post three hours later, he said: "About to board again #Ryanair hope the rear view mirror is clear and L plates are down #collision #dublinairport."
After the planes were examined by Air Accident Unit, the incident is now being investigated by the Irish Aviation Authority, according to UK MailOnline.
"The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport has been notified and will conduct a further investigation," said a spokesman.
"Dublin Airport is now fully operational, although passengers may anticipate some delays as a result of this morning's incident and are asked to check with their airlines directly for further information."
