Southwest Planes Hit Each Other on Nashville Tarmac During Storm

Two Southwest Airlines planes collided Saturday night at Nashville International Airport on the tarmac during a heavy rain storm. A spokeswoman for the airline said no injuries were reported after the incident, and passengers were taken to their destinations on different planes.

Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Michelle Agnew told the Associated Press the winglet of the St. Louis-bound Southwest Flight 155 “came into contact” during pushback with a winglet of Southwest Flight 4580 to Atlanta.

Both planes returned to the gate “under their own power” and passengers were switched to other planes to reach their designation. They were taken out of service until they can be repaired.

A passenger on one of the planes provided a photo to WKRN, showing heavy rain outside his window. The photo shows the other plane with the “S” from Southwest missing.

Eric Borden, an artist who took the photo, tweeted that it took him six hours to get home. It took more than three and a half hours for the passengers to finally get another plane to Atlanta.

The Federal Aviation Administration told WRKN it is investigating.

The incident did cause a delay in Atlanta, as one Twitter user complained.

“Stuck in Atlanta airport. Delayed 1 hour due to weather. Now delayed because [Southwest Air] hit another plane in Nashville and had to deplane,” the Twitter user wrote. “Traveling with a very tired 6 year old. Staff will not provide vouchers. Frustrating end to a vacation.”

This is the most recent case of two Southwest planes colliding on the tarmac. Back in March, the Associated Press reported that a Southwest plane was taxiing at the Newark Liberty Airport when it hit a parked plane at the Terminal A gate. There were no injuries in the incident.

The flight was headed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Coincidentally, the plane it struck was being de-iced before a flight to Nashville. The two planes were taken out of service for reviews. Passenger flights were also delayed.