WASHINGTON — An American Airlines plane bumped into another aircraft – with several members of Congress aboard – on the taxiway at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport on Thursday afternoon.

What You Need To Know

  • An American Airlines plane bumped into another aircraft – with several members of Congress aboard – on the taxiway at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport Thursday afternoon
  • The wingtip, or small wing, of an American Airlines flight headed to Charleston International Airport in South Carolina struck the other American Airlines flight bound for JFK International Airport in New York City at about 12:45 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration
  • The FAA said it will investigate what happened
  • American Airlines said there were a total of 151 people on both planes. No one was hurt in the taxiway collision
  • New York Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Nick LaLota, Gregory Meeks, Grace Meng and Ritchie Torres, as well as New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, were also on the flight

The wingtip, or small wing, of an American Airlines flight headed to Charleston International Airport in South Carolina struck the other American Airlines flight bound for JFK International Airport in New York City at about 12:45 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA said it will investigate what happened. 

American Airlines said there were a total of 151 people on both planes. No one was hurt in the taxiway collision, according to the airline and Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., one of the lawmakers who was on board. 

“I was just on a grounded plane that was struck by another aircraft. Thankfully, no one was injured—just the inconvenience of a delayed departure,” Torres wrote on X.

New York Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Nick LaLota, Gregory Meeks and Grace Meng, as well as New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, were also on the flight. Meeks said that seven members of Congress were passengers. 

“Serving in Congress has come with some once in a lifetime experiences… like just now while stationary on the runway at DCA, another plane just bumped into our wing,” LaLota posted on X. He added that Meng handed out grapes to others on the plane. 

Several of the lawmakers suggested that recent FAA cuts might be to blame for the collision.

“This close call underscores the urgent need for more FAA funding—people’s lives are at stake,” Meeks posted. 

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy responded to a post by Gottheimer, saying that, “No safety-critical positions at the FAA have been cut.”

After the planes collided, both aircrafts taxied to the terminal and were taken out of service for inspection by American Airlines’ maintenance teams, the airline said. The damage was limited to a winglet - a small wing - on each aircraft, according to American Airlines. 

LaLato later posted a photo of a dog, writing, “Back on the tarmac. Different plane. This guy gonna make sure we get there ok.”