Two Ryanair planes damaged in Stansted collision
Two Ryanair planes were damaged in a collision at Stansted Airport this morning.
The incident between a a Warsaw-bound plane and a plane from Frankfurt Hahn that had just landed happened at about 6.50am in the parking area.
The wing tip of one plane and the tail cone of another made contact while one was taxing to stand and the other was commencing pushback, the airline said. A wing of the departing plane was ripped as a result and part of it fell to the ground.
There are no reported injuries. Police were called in to help with evacuating passengers. Two replacement aircraft were brought in and departed following a three-hour delay.
A statement from Essex Police said: “Two Ryanair aircraft struck each other on the ground at Stansted Airport at just before 7am on Saturday.
“Officers from Essex Police carried out routine breath tests on both pilots, who returned zero readings. Nobody was injured on the ground or in either aircrafts. There is no further police action.”
A Stansted Airport spokesperson said:“We can confirm two aircraft were involved in a minor collision while on the ground at Stansted this morning. Both planes suffered some damage but there were no reported injuries to passengers or crew.
"The airport is operating as normal while an Air Accident Investigation Branch investigation takes place.
Passengers from the outbound flight have been offloaded onto an alternative aircraft to continue their journey.”
A statement from Ryanair said:“This morning at London Stansted (28 June) the wing tip and tail cone of two Ryanair aircraft made contact while one aircraft was taxing to stand and the other was commencing pushback from stand.
“Customers were disembarked from both aircraft and our Stansted based engineering team are currently investigating and will repair both aircraft and return them to service as soon as possible.
“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience to our customers.”
Earlier this month, a Ryanair jet was damaged when it rolled into a building at Rome’s Ciampino Airport after ground crews failed to secure the plane.
