Planes carrying congress members collide at Washington airport
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Two American Airlines planes collided on the taxiway at Ronald Reagan National Airport on Thursday, involving seven members of Congress. The planes made contact while taxiing, causing damage to a winglet.
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Travelers walk along a concourse at Reagan National Airport on July 19, 2024, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
A minor but concerning collision between two American Airlines planes occurred at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday—a key airport located just a few miles from the U.S. Capitol and regularly used by federal lawmakers for travel to and from Washington, D.C. The incident involved two regional jets that made contact while taxiing on the ground, not during takeoff or landing.
American Airlines Flight 4522, an Embraer E175, was preparing to depart for New York and had seven members of Congress among its 67 passengers. While taxiing, it struck Flight 5490, a Bombardier CRJ 900, which was scheduled to fly to South Carolina. The contact caused damage to the winglet (the tip of the wing) on one of the planes, which, while not a major structural failure, was serious enough to warrant immediate safety checks and delay both flights.
The plane to New York wasn’t moving at the time, passenger and US Representative Nick LaLota said on X.
Serving in Congress has come with some once in a lifetime experiences… like just now while stationary on the runway at DCA, another plane just bumped into our wing. Heading back to the gate, but thankfully everyone is ok! (And @RepGraceMeng is handing out grapes!) pic.twitter.com/bOo1JNXZDh
— Congressman Nick LaLota (@RepLaLota) April 10, 2025
“Serving in Congress has come with some once-in-a-lifetime experiences … like just now while stationary on the runway at DCA, another plane just bumped into our wing,” LaLota’s post said. “Heading back to the gate, but thankfully everyone is ok!”
Though no one was injured, the presence of lawmakers aboard one of the flights added heightened visibility and concern around the incident. The FAA and American Airlines have launched investigations into what caused the planes to come too close on the taxiway—a situation that is rare but not unheard of at busy airports, especially those with tight layouts like Reagan National.
All 143 passengers from both flights were safely rebooked onto new aircraft. However, the situation raises questions about airport safety procedures, air traffic control coordination, and the challenges of operating at older, space-constrained airports near major urban centers.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating.
“Safety is our top priority, and we apologize to our customers for their experience,” American Airlines’ statement said.
This comes only a few months after the FAA confirmed that a Bombardier regional jet operated by American Airlines subsidiary PSA Airlines "collided in midair" with a Black Hawk Sikorsky UH-60 helicopter. The crash killed all 64 people aboard the two aircraft in the deadliest U.S. aviation disaster in almost a quarter century.
