Two Southwest Airlines planes made contact late Thursday at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport, forcing both aircraft back to their gates and prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to open an investigation. The FAA said the wing of Southwest Airlines Flight 3515 struck the tail of Southwest Airlines Flight 3409 as it pushed back onto the taxiway around 10:45 p.m.
Passengers on one of the flights said they noticed the planes getting uncomfortably close before the collision became obvious, and one traveler said people had to speak up before the cockpit appeared to realize what had happened. That passenger said he had already been delayed six hours and had been moved to a window seat on a half-empty plane. He later said the aircraft kept moving after the contact and that it took several people speaking up for someone to notice the alleged collision.
Both planes returned to their gates after the incident and let out their passengers, but the disruption did not end there. One flight was canceled, according to FlightAware, and the plane is expected to take off on Friday afternoon.
The airport identified in the reports was Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport, also known as T.F. Green Airport, where crews responded to the incident on June 12, 2026. The FAA said Friday morning that it would investigate, leaving the cause of the contact unresolved for now.
For Southwest, the immediate issue is operational: two flights interrupted, one canceled, and an aircraft that now faces scrutiny after a ground collision that passengers say they saw coming before the crew did. The question that remains is what allowed two planes to get close enough for the wing of one to hit the tail of the other during pushback at a busy airport gate area.
