Delta & Spirit Airplanes Collide on Runway

A Delta Airlines plane accidentally hit a Spirit Airlines plane on the runway at the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The incident happened on 12 May 2024, though it was only picked up by local news channels on 14 May 2024.

According to reports, the incident occurred around 21:00 when a Spirit Airlines plane, Flight 655, was stationary near a gate to board passengers. As the boarding process was ongoing, the aircraft was suddenly hit by the wingtip of a Delta plane, Flight DL2577.

Though the collision did shake the people on board, nobody sustained any injuries from the incident. The planes in question, however, have been taken out of service to be examined for any malfunctioning due to the accident. The Delta plane, which had yet to fly off at the time of the incident, was pulled off and the passengers in it were transferred to other planes. As a result, the 180 passengers on board had to face delays of around four hours or more. The Spirit aircraft was also taken aside to be examined and its future schedule was reallocated to other aircrafts.

Talking of the incident, Delta Airlines put out a statement: “Delta teams are working to reaccommodate customers to their final destination to Atlanta tonight after the wingtip from Delta flight DL2577 made contact with a parked aircraft at CLE. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.” Spirit Airlines, too, said, “Spirit Airlines flight 655 (CLE-LAX) was parked at the gate in Cleveland and in the process of boarding when the wing tip of another airline’s aircraft made contact with our aircraft. Our guests deplaned normally through the jet bridge, and no injuries to Spirit Guests or Team Members were reported. Safety is our top priority, and the aircraft was removed from service to be thoroughly inspected by our maintenance team. We are reaccommodating our guests with alternate travel arrangements as quickly as possible.”