Over the weekend, two Delta planes collided while taxiing at Miami International Airport, resulting in a low-speed collision that left passengers and crew frightened but unharmed.
One flight was bound for Atlanta, the other for Boston. However, when the Boston flight was pushed out from the gate, it collided with the Atlanta flight. According to Fox 5 Atlanta, Delta apologized to travelers for the disruption.
“All individuals on board and crew members were able to deplane safely. Maintenance teams are evaluating the condition of the aircraft, and customers have been re-accommodated on new aircraft onto their destinations,” Delta officials said.
Florida’s airports have been in a dilapidated state for some time now. Orlando is currently ranked as one of the worst places to fly out of, and the entire state is experiencing a shortage of air traffic controllers.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported a 5% increase in flights handled from its Jacksonville headquarters. Unfortunately, a surge in private airplanes and spaceflights hasn’t done much good. It’s unclear whether the chaos in the skies contributed to this accident.
Collisions are not a new phenomenon. The passengers on these two Delta aircraft should be grateful that the collision occurred on the ground. Two Airbus jets from the carrier Volaris nearly crashed at Mexico City International Airport in May, as shown below:
However, private flights are not any safer. It’s becoming more dangerous for passengers on smaller flights. Earlier this month, two small private planes collided in midair, killing four people.
According to The New York Times, minor aviation collisions have been on the rise in recent years. While commercial airline fatalities have decreased, deaths in small plane disasters increased from 347 in 2017 to 393 in 2018, the most recent year for which data is available from the National Transportation Safety Board.
