Sophia Michaels
On Saturday, a Virgin Atlantic aircraft collided with a British Airways jet at Heathrow Airport in London, prompting a significant emergency service reaction.
The empty Virgin 787 plane was being towed at Terminal 3 when it clipped the wing of the BA Airbus A350 passenger plane, witnesses have said.
It has been reported that the plane was full of passengers and was bound for Accra but British Airways is yet to confirm.
The Ghana-bound BA flight was delayed for several hours after the collision on the runway.
At least five fire engines rushed to the scene while the Air Accident Investigation Branch has taken note.
Both planes were going at a low speed and there were no reports of injuries.
A Virgin spokesman said: “We are aware that the wingtip of one of our empty aircraft came into contact with another aircraft whilst being towed from the stand at London Heathrow Terminal 3.
“The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority. We can confirm no customers were on board the Virgin Atlantic aircraft during this time.
“We’ve commenced a full and thorough investigation and our engineering teams are performing maintenance checks on the aircraft, which for now has been taken out of service.”
It is understood Virgin Atlantic’s flying programme has not been disrupted by the incident.
The tow movement was provided by a ground handling company under contract by Virgin Atlantic.
Alex Whittles, the passenger of another plane, witnessed the incident.
He tweeted: “Just witnessed a plane crash at Heathrow! A tug pushing back a Virgin 787, crashed the wing into a BA A350.”
“He drove the plane right over the hash markings on the ground,” he added.
