Two Delta Air Lines regional passenger jets collided at LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York, on Wednesday evening.
The FAA confirmed it was probing the incident involving two Bombardier CRJ-900s operated by Delta subsidiary Endeavor Air.
“Endeavor Air Flight 5047, a CRJ-900, was taxiing inbound to its gate at LaGuardia Airport in New York when it struck Endeavor Air Flight 5155, also a CRJ-900,” the FAA stated. “Air traffic control instructed flight 5155 to hold short and yield to the other aircraft.”
Delta told Associated Press that Endeavor Air Flight 5155 was carrying 32 preparing for takeoff to Roanoke, and Flight 5047 had arrived from Charlotte, North Carolina, with 61 people aboard.
Airport authorities reported that one flight attendant was taken to a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
Technically, the FAA is correct in that the ATC instructed the departing jet to hold short at taxiway Mike and yield to the arriving aircraft but if you listen to the ATC instructions, it is very confusing. ATC gave the entire taxi instructions to the departing plane with the hold short for runway 4 at Mike at the end. Taxiway Mike is more than a mile from runway 4. ATC could have just cleared the departing plane onto taxiway Alpha with a hold short at Mike and then cleared the plane to continue after the planes passed.
Let’s be clear. Endeavor is not Delta Air Lines. (Are reporters really that dumb or are they trying to sensationalize??) It is a separate company, but it happens to be owned by Delta. Their pilots are not trained by Delta, unless they are given the opportunity to apply to Delta. Yes, those pilot receive priority in the rack and stack for consideration at Delta (or at least, historically, they did), but my sources tell me it is not a given that they will make the grade. Looks like at least one set of these Endeavor pilots have lost that advantage…