Two Southwest Airlines planes made contact on the taxiway at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport on Thursday night, forcing both flights back to their gates and sending passengers off the aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration said the wing of Flight 3515 struck the tail of Flight 3409 around 10:45 p.m. ET while Flight 3515 was pushing back onto the taxiway.
The FAA said it will investigate the incident, which drew attention because it involved two commercial aircraft moving on the ground at a busy airport and ended with both planes out of service for the night. According to FlightAware, the flight was canceled and was expected to take off again Friday afternoon.
A passenger on Flight 3515 said the aircraft had already been delayed six hours and was only half full, with the traveler moved to a window seat before the collision. The passenger said they later noticed the plane getting close to another aircraft and did not think they would collide. After the contact, the passenger said the plane kept moving and that it took several people speaking up before anyone in the cockpit appeared to notice what had happened.
That account does not line up neatly with the FAA’s version of events. The agency described the aircraft as making contact on the taxiway, while the passenger said the plane kept moving after the alleged collision. Both planes returned to their gates after the incident and let out their passengers.
What caused the two Southwest aircraft to strike each other has not been explained. The investigation now moves to the FAA, which will have to determine whether the collision was a ground-control mistake, a taxiway movement problem or something else entirely. For now, the facts are limited to a brief but costly contact on the southwest side of the airport and a question about how two commercial jets came that close in the first place.
