A Delta Air Lines passenger jet and an Air Canada aircraft collided on a taxiway at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Tuesday morning, tearing off a portion of the Delta plane’s wing and prompting a federal investigation.
The incident occurred at approximately 10:30 a.m. local time as Delta Air Lines Flight 7 was taxiing for departure. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Public Affairs Specialist Donnell Evans and statements from both carriers, the Airbus A350-900 operating as Delta Flight 7 clipped the horizontal stabilizer of Air Canada Flight 785 with its left wingtip.
The Air Canada flight had just arrived at LAX from Toronto Pearson International Airport and was being towed toward its arrival gate when the ground collision took place.
Visual evidence from the scene showed that a curved portion of the Delta plane’s wing-known as a winglet-was sheared off during the impact and remained visibly lodged inside the tail stabilizer of the Air Canada jet. Passengers aboard other aircraft viewing the aftermath noted the severe proximity of the structures.
Jayson Lowe, CEO of Ascendant Financial Inc., was onboard a separate flight that had just landed at LAX when he witnessed the event unfold.
“I was looking out the window as we were taxiing to our arrival gate and a Delta A350 managed to hit a parked Air Canada plane. A parked plane. I cannot stress this enough,” Lowe wrote in a social media post, adding that spatial awareness appeared to have lapsed in the cockpit.
Passenger Manifest and Status of Aircraft
At the time of the collision, the Delta flight was scheduled to depart for Tokyo Haneda Airport carrying 275 passengers and 15 crew members. Officials confirmed that no injuries were reported among passengers or crew members on either aircraft.
Both planes were immediately taken out of active service following the ground strike. Delta maintenance crews, alongside airport operations teams, initiated comprehensive structural assessments of the Airbus A350-900. Air Canada confirmed that its aircraft would also undergo extensive inspection and repairs before returning to service.
Airport Operations and Federal Investigation
Despite the morning incident, airport officials confirmed that overall operations at LAX continued largely uninterrupted. While temporary gate holds and minor taxi delays of 15 minutes or less were logged by air traffic monitors, major disruptions to the airfield schedule were avoided.
“While taxiing at Los Angeles International Airport, a Delta aircraft made contact with an Air Canada aircraft,” a Delta spokesperson said in an official statement. “Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people, and we apologize to our customers for the experience and delay in their travels.”
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were immediately notified of the collision. Both federal agencies have opened formal investigations to determine the exact sequence of events, radio communications, and taxi instructions that led to the ground contact between the two wide-body commercial jets.
