Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Two planes collide at Nashville Airport

‘Welcome to Crashville’

Joanna Whitehead
Monday 22 July 2019 12:45 BST
Comments
The two planes have been removed from service for maintenance
The two planes have been removed from service for maintenance (istock)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Two Southwest Airlines collided on the tarmac at Nashville International Airport, resulting in one plane’s wingtip being clipped.

The incident happened when both planes were pulling back from their respective gates for take-off.

No-one was injured, although both aircraft were removed from service for a maintenance evaluation.

The planes were due to depart for St Louis, Missouri, and Atlanta, Georgia. It’s understood that passengers were transferred to other planes to continue their journeys.

One passenger onboard one of the flights posted a photograph of a damaged plane wing to Twitter, saying “Welcome to Crashville”.

In a statement to The Independent, a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines said: “During pushback, the winglet of Southwest Flight 1555 with scheduled service between Nashville and St. Louis, came into contact with the winglet of Southwest Flight 4580 with scheduled service between Nashville and Atlanta.

“Both aircraft returned to the gate under their own power and were taken out of service for maintenance evaluation.

“There were no reports of injury. Each flight operated with a new aircraft to continue service to the scheduled destinations.”

Earlier this month, two planes collided at Amsterdam Schiphol airport.

An easyJet aircraft crashed into a KLM plane during pushback, when an aircraft leaves the gate ready for take-off. One passenger onboard the easyJet flight, from Amsterdam to London Gatwick, said the plane’s wing was “lodged” into the KLM aircraft’s tail.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in