A Delta plane and an Air Canada plane were in a ground collision at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Tuesday morning. No one was hurt, but one plane is now out of service.
Breaking
The Two Planes in the LAX Collision
| Delta | Air Canada | |
|---|---|---|
| Flight | DL 7 | AC 785 |
| Route | Los Angeles to Japan | Toronto to Los Angeles |
| Aircraft | Airbus A350* | Boeing 777* |
| What it was doing | Taxiing to depart | Being towed to the gate |
| Part that hit | Left wingtip | Horizontal stabilizer (tail) |
*Aircraft types as reported. Times are local to Los Angeles.
Contrail
What Happened
At about 10:30 a.m. local time, Air Canada flight 785, which had just arrived from Toronto, was being towed to its gate. At the same time, Delta flight 7 was taxiing out for its flight to Japan. According to the FAA, the Delta plane's left wingtip clipped the Air Canada plane's horizontal stabilizer, the small wing on the tail that keeps a plane steady in flight.
The Delta plane was reportedly an Airbus A350, and the Air Canada plane a Boeing 777. Both airlines confirmed their planes "made contact" on the ground, and neither reported any injuries.
Air Canada says its plane will be taken out of service for inspection and repairs. Delta says its crews and airport team are assessing its aircraft. The FAA is investigating.
Why This Keeps Happening
Ground collisions like this one are rarely dangerous to the people on board, since the planes are moving at walking speed. But they happen more than most travelers think. Wingtips are far from the cockpit and out of the pilots' view, so crews depend on painted taxi lines and ground controllers to keep enough room between planes.
LAX is also one of the most crowded airports in the country, with wide-body jets packed tightly around its terminals. When a plane under tow and a plane taxiing share a tight space, there is little room for error.
This isn't the first time a Delta wide-body has been involved in a ground collision. In September 2024, a Delta A350 bound for Tokyo clipped the tail of a Delta regional jet while taxiing in Atlanta, knocking the smaller plane's tail off. And last October, two Delta regional jets collided on a taxiway at New York's LaGuardia, injuring a flight attendant.
What It Means for Passengers
If you were booked on Delta 7, expect a delay or a swap to another plane while Delta checks the wingtip. Even a small scrape means a plane has to be inspected before it can fly again.
If you're flying Air Canada between Toronto and Los Angeles in the next few days, keep an eye on your booking. Taking a wide-body out of service can ripple through an airline's schedule, and Air Canada may need to swap planes or change times on other flights.
Planes hitting each other on the ground can sound scary, but incidents like this one almost never put passengers at risk. The bigger cost is to the airlines, which now have to repair a plane and rework their schedules.
We'll update this story as Delta, Air Canada, and the FAA share more.
