Picture credits: X (@WashTimes)
Washington: On Wednesday morning, a Japan Airlines Boeing 787-9 and a Delta Air Lines Boeing 737 were involved in a minor collision at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac). The incident occurred at approximately 10:17 a.m. local time when Japan Airlines Flight 68 wide-body aircraft made contact with the tail of Delta Flight 1921, which was preparing to depart for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
The right wingtip of the JAL 787-9 clipped the tail of the Delta 737. The Airport said in an official statement on social media, Port of Seattle Fire, Police and SEA operations responded to an incident on the ramp at SEA on a taxi line between S Concourse and the south airport maintenance hangars.
Watch the footage of the incident below:
BREAKING: A Japan Airlines plane just struck the tail of a parked Delta Airlines plane at SeaTac Airport pic.twitter.com/39NNTsTi7A
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) February 5, 2025
There were 142 passengers aboard the Delta aircraft at the time of the collision. Japan Airlines said Flight JL68, which had 172 passengers and 13 crew members on board, was taxiing after arrival from Narita International Airport in Japan when the right wing of the Boeing 787-9 clipped the tail of the Delta plane.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initially stated that both planes were taxiing when the collision occurred. However, Sea-Tac Airport later clarified that the Japan Airlines plane was in motion while the Delta aircraft was stationary, awaiting deicing.
In a statement to CBS News, Delta spokesperson Samantha Moore Facteau provided further details, explaining that the Delta aircraft was “in sequence for deicing” when its tail “made contact with a wing tip” of the Japan Airlines plane.
Following the incident, passengers from both flights were safely deplaned and returned to the terminal. A later update from Sea-Tac Airport reassured travelers that “airlines are working to accommodate passengers as needed” and that airport crews were in the process of moving the affected aircraft off the ramp taxiway.
As of 2 p.m. PT, there were at least 180 delays and 28 cancellations at SEA, according to FlightAware.
The Airport was already experiencing delays as winter weather swept through the Pacific Northwest.
The FAA has launched an investigation into the incident to determine the circumstances surrounding the collision.
Stay tuned to Aviation Today for more such updates.
