We see aircraft “bumping” into one another on the ground every so often — hey, I guess it’s better that it happens on the ground than in the air. Here’s the latest example of that, though this incident seems particularly avoidable…
In this post:
Delta planes collide on SLC taxiway
This incident happened on the evening of Saturday, July 27, 2024. Long story short, three Delta jets were waiting for takeoff short of runway 16L:
- The first aircraft waiting for takeoff was a Delta Airbus A220-100, operating flight DL1304 to Orange County (SNA)
- The second aircraft waiting for takeoff was a Delta Airbus A320, operating flight DL2677 to Dallas (DFW)
- The third aircraft waiting for takeoff was a Delta Boeing 737-900ER, operating flight DL2046 to Bozeman (BZN)
As these planes were waiting for takeoff, the wind conditions weren’t ideal. Planes ordinarily take off into the wind, but in this case the wind was blowing in the opposite direction, so they had a tailwind. So the pilot of the first Delta jet advised air traffic control they’d need a minute to crunch the numbers on takeoff performance:
Delta 1304 pilot: “Right now, for Delta 1304, we got four knots too much on the tailwind. We’re just running the numbers, so stand by.”
At this point the pilot of the third Delta jet advises that they’d be ready to depart immediately, and could take off from an intersection:
Delta 2046 pilot: “Tower, Delta 2046, we have a number for a hotel 12 departure if able.”
Air traffic controller: “Delta 2046, that’s fine… and you have access now?”
Delta 2046 pilot: “We can get in there, Delta 2046.”
Famous last words, because as it turns out, there wasn’t enough room for the jet to “get in there.” As the Delta 737 made a right turn onto a taxiway to get onto the runway, the winglet hit the tail of the Delta Airbus A320 in front of it.
As you’d expect, there was quite a bit of drama with figuring out how the planes could proceed, since at first it was difficult to asses the damage. Two of the Delta flights ended up returning to the gate and had to be canceled. That’s not ideal, since I can only imagine that some passengers on that flight had probably already been stranded for days, given Delta’s meltdown.
Meanwhile the first Delta flight suffered an even longer delay for a reason unrelated to this incident. That’s because the runway direction had to be changed, as the wind speed picked up.
VASAviation has an excellent recreation of this incident, which you can watch below.
This is an extremely avoidable accident
As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, ground collisions do happen with some frequency. However, in a vast majority of situations, they happen while planes are pushing back, or taxiing in very narrow apron areas. It often happens while aircraft are being pushed back, and sometimes the “wing walkers” just aren’t paying enough attention.
However, it’s rare to see a situation like this, where the plane is under the full control of the pilots, and they’re on an open taxiway. The air traffic controller specifically asked if they’d have enough room to clear onto the taxiway, the pilot confirmed they would, and they went.
Pilots are always supposed to err on the side of caution. If there was any doubt in the captain’s mind that there wouldn’t be ample space to clear the other plane, he obviously shouldn’t have made this request (or accepted the clearance).
Did the captain have poor depth perception, a case of get-there-itis, or what? Delta captains are the best compensated in the industry, so they shouldn’t be maneuvering as if they’re a Dodge Charger driver in Miami…
I’m curious, does anyone know what typically happens to pilots in these kinds of situations, when they do something like this that’s obviously pilot error? Do they just get some more simulator time, or are there bigger repercussions?
Bottom line
Two Delta planes collided on a taxiway at Salt Lake City Airport. More specifically, the pilots of one Delta jet thought they could maneuver to the side of another Delta jet in order to get a faster takeoff clearance, though that didn’t exactly work out, as both aircraft were damaged, and both flights were canceled.
What do you make of this Delta jet collision?
This seems almost unbelievable. I worked airport ops, including driving jet bridges for different airlines. It was a HUGE incident if a jet bridge or any other ground equipment ever touched an aircraft, no matter how slightly. The plane would have to be taken out of service for full inspection/review of incident. The thought that a Captain wanted to fly an aircraft after a ground collision seems nearly criminal and disqualifying as a pilot.
Well you’re STUPID to IMAGINE. Those passengers are all cleared. Why does this rag continue to allow these clowns to write such childish crap? I guess you get what you pay for,
Say what, now?
Pressure on top of pressure, plus impatience, add up to tragedy…
In this case it was on the ground and remediable.
Regardless of the relative “sh–tshow” that commercial flight has become as of late, EVERYONE in the industry needs to just STOP, take a breath, and remember to be deliberate, cautious, and SAFE, above ALL else.
There were two flights waiting at the end of the runway recomputing their takeoff data due to a tailwind. Along comes captain number three who, apparently, already has his takeoff numbers for an intersection departure with a tailwind. There seemed to be some confusion about what the wind actually was but it didn’t seem to bother captain number three. Apparently he is good at both crunching numbers and crunching wingtips.
Too many people with a non airline background on the delta executive team. It is full of MBAs and other financial people.
and who precisely on the executive team is responsible for this accident?
there were 6 pilots involved - tell us which one of them were management?
@ted poco
Agreed with Tim Dunn. What a bullsh**it silly comment that has nothing to do with this incident.
Corporate culture, financial incentives/pressure to stay on schedule, poor protocols. Tim Dunn, you obviously can't even manage yourself and your stupid biases.
Many a mistake happen if not company failures due to poor executive management. Ed Bastian does NOT under the core values of running airline business. It is NOT simply a hard product but the soft product that differentiates. That's why Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airwars and other international carriers are making record profits....
Corporate culture, financial incentives/pressure to stay on schedule, poor protocols. Tim Dunn, you obviously can't even manage yourself and your stupid biases.
Many a mistake happen if not company failures due to poor executive management. Ed Bastian does NOT under the core values of running airline business. It is NOT simply a hard product but the soft product that differentiates. That's why Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airwars and other international carriers are making record profits. Why is Ed not being penalized on his performance vis-a-vis his competitors?
Pilot in Command assume all responsibility for his/her aircraft! The Delta pilot should pay for this mistake big time. Let's stop the sloppiness by ATC, airlines, pilot's, and the FAA.
I was on the plane that hit the other plane. Our pilot was terrible and had no safety checks after he hit the other plane. He tried to still take off! We were screaming in the back of the plane to get him to stop. Horrible experience flying with Delta and the negligence that pilot had for the flight and everyone’s safety was insane! He should be fired!!!!
Wow, the pilot still tried to take off following the collision?!? If the winglet on (or any other part of) the colliding wing had been damaged, that could have resulted in the aircraft being uncontrollable once in the air, leading to a crash with the loss of all aboard. Sounds like that pilot needs to be grounded by the FAA (and Delta) for a very long time, if not permanently.
Are you certain he was taking off? In the video, ATC clears him to taxi - not take off - on the runway.
Calling BS. There's no evidence the pilot tried to take off. Watch the video. While he was stupid to try the turn, he did the right thing after.
@casa
Yup, I'm calling this a fake comment. The pilot made a mistake, for sure, but was just using minimal thrust to get off the runway/taxiway back to the gate. You weren't on the airplane...
Repercussions from good source: it will depend on pilot's safety history... if this is a first time mistake, pilot will be taken offline and extra training on the offense will take place. If pilot has had many incidents he can be fired.
Oh no, what a “stupid accident”. Were any of the pilots white males?
Just asking for a DEI candidate
Stop carrying water for your orange-skinned god, MAGAt
I think you missed my sarcasm Erikoj
I was on Delta 2677 during this incident (window seat 2D). I was able to see the plane that hit us as it made its turn. Was not listening to ATC (which I often am doing). The collision was significant enough to be readily evident as a crash with both a solid jolt and noise resonating through the structure. My initial thought was that we had run into something.
Frustration was high given that this...
I was on Delta 2677 during this incident (window seat 2D). I was able to see the plane that hit us as it made its turn. Was not listening to ATC (which I often am doing). The collision was significant enough to be readily evident as a crash with both a solid jolt and noise resonating through the structure. My initial thought was that we had run into something.
Frustration was high given that this was the second plane assigned to the flight (the initial plane had APU issues and without the ability to run A/C on the ground the pilot rejected it). Eventually with the combination of needing a new plane and a new crew the flight was technically delayed (not canceled) until 9am the next morning (roughly 12 hours after scheduled departure). Aside from a delay of 24 hours in Cape Town about 10 years ago (due to volcanic ash from Chile) this is the longest delay I have experienced.
I rarely fly Delta - as I live in the DFW Area and am Exec Plat with AA but had no late evening options for SLC to DFW. Aside from the delays (and it belng totally preventable) I was extremely impressed with Delta's proactive managing of the issue. Meal Vouchers and Hotel Vouchers were distributed automatically through the Delta App, Email and SMS even before it was ascertained that the flight would not go out that night. I was also notified (without any contact from me at all) of 20K miles deposited to my account. Given the circumstances, it was handled as well as could be expected.
Our pilot was also forthcoming with what had taken place. Interestingly enough, he was apparently "Captain of the Month" (wasn't aware there was such a thing). Several comments were made by passengers about the pilot who ran into us not likely to ever get "Captain of the Month"
So it was dark?
The takeaway here is DL and WN need a complete culture shakeup; this stuff needs to stop!
Exactly, this.
Having an insulated culture where everyone drinks the kool-aid is not great.
Gee, no wonder United Airlines is doing so well these days.
Their management team is a mix of people from sUA/CO/US/AA/NW/Outside the industry, which has to be one of the most diverse management teams out there airline wise.
what an incredibly ignorant comment - but from you that should be no surprise.
This incident was about 2 pilots - and maybe just one - that couldn't wait and couldn't calculate distances either.
Feel free to tell us how DL management gave this guy the green light to knock two planes out of service.
And since you are incapable of understanding the difference between line personnel (pilots in this case) and management, this would...
what an incredibly ignorant comment - but from you that should be no surprise.
This incident was about 2 pilots - and maybe just one - that couldn't wait and couldn't calculate distances either.
Feel free to tell us how DL management gave this guy the green light to knock two planes out of service.
And since you are incapable of understanding the difference between line personnel (pilots in this case) and management, this would be a good time to remind you that UA had MULTIPLE pilot incidents involving near accidents including near ditching in the ocean and landing accidents that involved real bent metal and runway overruns ON TOP OF multiple aircraft losing parts - which is far more about mgmt controls than rogue pilot actions at DL and UA.
UA's management team dumped 60% more capacity into the Pacific last winter, managed to lose money while DL made money, and now is cancelling large portions of the flights they operated last year because they are ultimately a for-profit business as I have said all along.
Spare us your incessant drivel and face up to the reality of what mgmt actually is responsible for and leave the rogue pilots at either airline to be hung out for their own actions.
What a clown car situation. No not the incident at SLC. @Ben, do better at moderating your blog. Limit all respondents to one post. It's on you the @TimDunn highjacking (pun intended) of your formerly enjoyable blog.
All the calls to silence dissenting opinions or censor comments are way more obnoxious than the actual comments themselves
thank you.
No other site allow users to recycle the user name of another user with only the "diamond" status being the distinguish that some, but clearly not all, can use to distinguish between the real user and the fakes.
You have to ask yourself:
...1. Why Ben refuses to corral the situation and
2. What these people really think they are accomplishing other than ruining the experience and ultimately the blog.
thank you.
No other site allow users to recycle the user name of another user with only the "diamond" status being the distinguish that some, but clearly not all, can use to distinguish between the real user and the fakes.
You have to ask yourself:
1. Why Ben refuses to corral the situation and
2. What these people really think they are accomplishing other than ruining the experience and ultimately the blog.
given that the same people who say that they want to see me gone - all clearly airline employees or related - are the ones that do the stuff that irritates the real readers is all the more bizarre.
Tim: "they just might be relegated to flying LGA to JFK roundtrips for a month. Being stuck in an endless cycle of ATC delays might be necessary to break their impatience."
Quality Tim, love it. :)
rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Every now and then, I step back to do other things and am constantly amazed at how I continue to be the center of the conversation even when I am not in participating.
There are clearly a few people -and it is just a few - that are so fixated on me that they can't help but keep me at the center of the conversation.
I clearly...
rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Every now and then, I step back to do other things and am constantly amazed at how I continue to be the center of the conversation even when I am not in participating.
There are clearly a few people -and it is just a few - that are so fixated on me that they can't help but keep me at the center of the conversation.
I clearly live rent free in some people's minds -but I have to say that those minds are far from in the best neighborhoods in town.
specific to the topic, there is one DL crew out of three that has some 'splaining to do and they just might be relegated to flying LGA to JFK roundtrips for a month. Being stuck in an endless cycle of ATC delays might be necessary to break their impatience.
I see the king of yapping has returned. Hearty welcome back Tim, can’t wait to hear your outrageous Delta takes!
He sure is giving Vasu Raja, who got fired for unrelated reasons, a fight for the title of aviation yapper.
missed u baby
Rumors of your demise aren't exaggerated, Timbo. They're desired.
“ rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.”
Wow, how f’ing thick are you? Nobody gives 2 thoughts about you.
"Nobody gives 2 thoughts about you."
If that's so, how come every other Delta-related (heck, I'd go as far as to say SkyTeam-related) post has a "WHERE IS TD??" in the first few comments.
@Redacted
Because he brought this on himself by obsessively showing up in the comments secction on articles about Delta on various different blogs defending Delta no matter what?
Back on the subject. The 737 captain will be counciled in front the cheif pilot staff, run through training and the brunt of many jokes from other Delta pilots for months to come. There will be many memos sent out to pilots and may even be a new proceedure named after him/ or her. One moment of poor judgement will mark an otherwise stellar career.
I'm not a pilot, but I'm surprised this is something left to the pilot's judgment. Wouldn't ATC know exactly where they asked plane #2 to hold short on, and, based on what type of aircraft it is, whether that makes the turnoff that plane #3 tried to use, available or not?
Back in the 80s/90s and even now in some airports (like JFK and LGA) there used to be enormous lines of 15-20 planes lined...
I'm not a pilot, but I'm surprised this is something left to the pilot's judgment. Wouldn't ATC know exactly where they asked plane #2 to hold short on, and, based on what type of aircraft it is, whether that makes the turnoff that plane #3 tried to use, available or not?
Back in the 80s/90s and even now in some airports (like JFK and LGA) there used to be enormous lines of 15-20 planes lined up on taxiways. I imagine the issue of one of the middle planes needing to turn off would come up often enough that they would have calculations or simple rules (like if a 737-7 is lined up at point x, that makes turnoff y inaccessible) and not just leave it to the pilot to eyeball it and see...
When multiple planes are lined up behind each other (as in a line for takeoff), each planes is not stopped at a specific "point", they are literally lined up behind each other. Some pilots will pull up closer than others to the plane ahead. ATC can not tell if a plane has room to maneuver or not.
While there are specific "hold points/lines" at some places (particularly for runways), for the most part, pilots are...
When multiple planes are lined up behind each other (as in a line for takeoff), each planes is not stopped at a specific "point", they are literally lined up behind each other. Some pilots will pull up closer than others to the plane ahead. ATC can not tell if a plane has room to maneuver or not.
While there are specific "hold points/lines" at some places (particularly for runways), for the most part, pilots are simply told to "hold short of ..."
IE: "taxi to [runway] 34Left via [taxiway] Kilo, hold short of [taxiway] 22".
So taxiways "K" and "22" intersect somewhere. I can not enter that intersection. There are no lines near the intersection showing me where to stop. It's up to me not to enter the intersection.
A surgeon friend of mine often spoke this rule of thumb, "If you think you can 'get away ' with something, you probably shouldn't consider it in the first place."
Ought to apply to pilots as well.
Oh for the days of interesting and useful comments that actually added to the conversation. Miss those days!
I don't understand the anger or frustration. Passengers should be thankful that they were treated to the most Premium™ of collisions.
Still nothing to beat Indian Airlines 737 rushing out on grass from gate to pass an incoming 320, on a fortunately clear dry day in Chennai, so he didn't get bogged. That was back in the 80s, a year after another enterprising crew had already landed their first 320 in a golf course in BLR. Lots to learn from the 3rd world, Delta!
Honestly, I do find the idea that the biggest loser of the two DL planes colliding, is Tim Dunn, is quite hilarious.
Doesn't he live in Liliburn, Georgia, which is near Atlanta? Hmmmm
Couldn't happen to a more repulsive, disgusting excuse for an airline.
It's not that serious bro
Delta is an airline that has Jedi Mind Tricked an entire population into thinking they're better than every single airline out there when they're jam-packed from top to bottom with arrogance and dismissal for their customer base. They deserve Chapter 7 and to vanish from the world. Wouldn't affect me any. I have UA and, when desperate, AA from ORD and WN from my beloved MDW.
"It's not that serious bro"
Right?
With a mere mention of this airline's name, we see a swath of members suddenly go through all four corners of the emotional spectrum, sometimes in the span of a single post.
This almost needs to be a psych study.
The former crop dusting Airline from the Louisiana Bayou has had a difficult Month of July for sure. Never saw a Company operate with so much smoke and mirrors to delude people in thinking they are so great,lol. Well lately they have been SNAKEBITTEN and if anything I hope they learned a lesson....Do not GLOAT and BRAG how Great You are when Your Airline has flaws and breakdowns just like every other one. I have...
The former crop dusting Airline from the Louisiana Bayou has had a difficult Month of July for sure. Never saw a Company operate with so much smoke and mirrors to delude people in thinking they are so great,lol. Well lately they have been SNAKEBITTEN and if anything I hope they learned a lesson....Do not GLOAT and BRAG how Great You are when Your Airline has flaws and breakdowns just like every other one. I have flown all of them and Delta is certainly no better than any of them.
I try to fly smaller carriers like Sun Country, Allegiant and Breeze. They don't seem to have operational meltdowns and they are not arrogant. Alaska as well.
Breeze, as a product of Neelzebub, needs to die just like JetBlue needs to. The man's work needs to be eradicated with prejudice.
This has been a brutal last month for Tim Dunn.
Thoughts and prayers.
What happened to Tim Dunn anyway? I haven't seen him commenting in a while. Did he end up getting blocked?
Doubt Ben would block someone that is able to argue (comparably) rational. More likely Tim is fed-up with beeing mocked and trolled.
@Neogucky
Considering Ben threatened to do just that, block Tim, maybe 2-3 days ago after Tim's rants about everything (to include Ben's family), I respectfully disagree
@neogucky,
I do have to say... Tim has a long and old reputation of creating new profiles when his old ones are banned (airliners.net only got around this by banning every IP address he's ever had). Nice to see "new members" defending Tim so quickly. ;)
To be in a hurry never compensates. No excuses for the 737...
least obvious Tim Dunn burner account.
You know what's even more stupid than this accident?
OMAAT users mocking Tim Dunn 24/7.
Least obvious Tim Dunn burner account.
@Triple7 - Too bad that I don't like him either.
Tim Dunn bringing irrelevant stuff to make Delta look better is stupid enough, but the OMAAT users mocking Tim Dunn is even more stupid.
He’s not even here commenting and you’re the first comment commenting about him. Calm down, NS. If you’re looking for the problem, it’s you.
Nah, I agree with NS.
Every time there's a post about Delta, I can reliably come here and see way more negative comments referring to Tim Dunn than actual comments made *by* Tim - often when Tim hasn't commented at all.
I get the feeling commenters hate him (or pretend to) for the same reason people hated Nickelback (or pretended to) circa 2008: they saw people doing it on the internet and getting likes/positive feedback...
Nah, I agree with NS.
Every time there's a post about Delta, I can reliably come here and see way more negative comments referring to Tim Dunn than actual comments made *by* Tim - often when Tim hasn't commented at all.
I get the feeling commenters hate him (or pretend to) for the same reason people hated Nickelback (or pretended to) circa 2008: they saw people doing it on the internet and getting likes/positive feedback for it, so they started doing it themselves.
This comment is not to be read as an endorsement/agreement with all of Tim's comments/opinions (or Nickelback for that matter, lol); just a suggestion that commenters should perhaps move on, or only mention Tim when directly replying to him.
(I can think of other brand-obsessed commenters far more worthy of ridicule, anyway, specifically on the hotel side...but won't name them for fear of being a hypocrite.)
Hahahaha. You know your last comment would just make some of us even more curious.
I'll put it this way: the individual I have in mind not only defends their preferred brand incredibly defensively over even mild (and valid) criticisms or unfavorable comparisons. They also get actively hostile to those making said criticisms, often using weirdly lawyer-y language to attack their intelligence, call them delusional, accuse them of 'gaslighting' (completely misusing the term), etc., when this person is the one missing the point or misinterpreting the language (perhaps wilfully).
I...
I'll put it this way: the individual I have in mind not only defends their preferred brand incredibly defensively over even mild (and valid) criticisms or unfavorable comparisons. They also get actively hostile to those making said criticisms, often using weirdly lawyer-y language to attack their intelligence, call them delusional, accuse them of 'gaslighting' (completely misusing the term), etc., when this person is the one missing the point or misinterpreting the language (perhaps wilfully).
I wouldn't mind so much if they left out the ad hominems and stuck to actual arguments; disagreement is fine, even enlightening sometimes! But the personal attacks begin where their valid arguments end (and sometimes, frankly, way earlier), which crosses a line IMO.
You can likely find them on virtually any post comparing the major hotel loyalty programs, for what it's worth.
Imagine having such a brand allegiance to Hilton. I'm even Diamond with them and I certainly don't think my two bottles of water at check in are anything to go nuts about
Well said and very funny, Plane Jane. Apparently, even the bottled water is only at select hotels. It is also per stay, I think. Though, you get much better treatment outside of the U.S. based Hilton hotels and thankfully they still offer complimentary breakfast and not breakfast credit.
Okay. Thanks for the clarification Chris. I appreciate your reply.