Tarmac chaos at LaGuardia Airport as two United planes collide amid weather and staffing woes
Two United Airlines planes have collided with one another on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport in New York.
The mishap involved a Chicago-bound plane making contact with another aircraft that was set to be taking off for Houston on Friday night.
Flight 580 clipped the tail of Flight 434, which was stationary on the runway at the time, United told the Daily Mail.
After the collision, both aircraft returned to the gate, where passengers were able to disembark normally, the airline said.
No injuries were reported among the combined 328 passengers and 15 crew members on the two planes.
'We all felt a bump during taxi to the runway but didn't know it was another plane until the captain said it was,' a passenger who declined to give their name told The New York Post.
Photos from the scene show there were numerous emergency vehicles on the tarmac after the collision.
Maintenance crews are in the process of evaluating the damage to the plane that was hit to make sure there aren't any malfunctions.
Two United Airlines planes collided with one another at LaGuardia Airport on Friday, the airline confirmed to the Daily Mail
The mishap involved a Chicago-bound plane making contact with another aircraft that was set to be taking off for Houston on Friday night
After the collision, both aircraft returned to the gate, where passengers were able to disembark normally, the airline said
This comes as New York City-area airports have been plagued by strong winds. Earlier in the night, LaGuardia grounded planes due to the intense winds, which had reached 45mph.
Airports all around the country are also dealing with a rising number of delays and cancellations because of staffing shortages driven by the government shutdown, which has now officially stretched on for a month.
The Houston-bound plane that was clipped had been on a 90-minute delay.
The CEO of United Airlines, Scott Kirby, went to the White House on Thursday along with the chief executives of Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and American Airlines to publicly support the passage of the Republican bill to open the government.
'It's putting stress on the economy,' Kirby told reporters, adding that the shutdown is impacting bookings. 'It is time to pass a clean CR.'
Around 13,000 air traffic controllers have been working without pay, which in recent days, has led to a surge in them calling out sick.
The FAA reported on Thursday that 35 air traffic facilities, including major airports and other facilities that monitor air travel, have chronic staffing shortages due to the shutdown.
According to data from FlightAware, there were 5,764 delays for flights within, into, or out of the United States on Thursday.
And thousands of passengers were left stranded in Orlando on Wednesday night after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced there would be 'no certified controllers for a period of time', which would 'prevent landings' at Orlando Airport, the closest major airport to both Disney World and Universal Studios.
The incident came as right as the government shutdown dragged into its 31st day. Because the shutdown is leading to staffing shortages among air traffic controllers, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby (pictured at the White House on Thursday) and other airline executives all support passing the Republican plan to reopen the government
Donald Trump urged Republican senators on Friday to get rid of the filibuster to end the government shutdown
As of now, it doesn't appear that there has been significant movement by lawmakers to compromise and find a way to open the government.
The Senate adjourned on Thursday and won't meet again until on Monday. That will be the 34th day of the shutdown, which would match longest funding lapse in US history.
That lapse occurred under Donald Trump's first administration, beginning on December 22, 2018, and ending on January 25, 2019.
Trump on Friday called on Congressional Republicans to deploy the 'nuclear option' of ending the filibuster to bring the current shutdown to an end.
The filibuster, as it currently exists, requires 60 votes to bring any bill up to a final vote. Getting rid of it would allow the Senate to pass legislation a simple 51-vote majority.
The Republicans hold a 53-seat majority, meaning the GOP's funding bill would pass easily and go straight to Trump's desk.
Senators on both sides of the aisle have long been hesitant to completely remove the filibuster, fearful of what policies their rivals would be able to ram through in years they control government.
The shutdown came after Democrats refused to vote for the GOP temporary funding measure.
They argued it should include a permanent extension to the tax credits for Americans who buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, also known as Obamacare.
