It's never a good sign when an airline worker is spotted carrying a piece of your plane that you're pretty sure is required for takeoff.
Southwest Flight 449 was scheduled to leave LaGuardia Airport in New York on Tuesday when it had a minor run-in with another carrier. The plane's winglet was clipped by an American Airlines plane while on its way from the gate to the runway, according to passengers on the plane and in the terminal.
The cause of the accident is unclear.
Southwest's terminal at LaGuardia is not particularly well designed, with spaces tight enough to prevent pilots from navigating around obstacles. Some planes must power down on the tarmac and wait to be towed to the gate.
Live from LaGuardia: Southwest plane I'm on had its wing clipped; impact with American plane. Unclear what happened. pic.twitter.com/UZIKdBNNMK— Arí Isaacman Astles (@Ari_Be_Free) December 23, 2014
Southwest just wanted to say "Hi" to American! By clipping wings. Sigh #holidaytravel #LaGuardia #AmericanAirlines pic.twitter.com/MOqOV2qCuT— wherethekaoroam (@wherethekaoroam) December 23, 2014
My plane just hit another plane and broke the wing! #Southwest #LaGuardia #LateForXMas? pic.twitter.com/9pSQX1PROQ— Stormie (@StormieEtta) December 23, 2014
The winglets on Southwest's Boeing 737s act to improve fuel efficiency by reducing drag associated with more conventional wing designs. Although they look small relative to the aircraft, they are substantial: They are taller than 8 feet and are about 4 feet wide at the base. They're not necessary for flight, but having uneven winglets could affect how a plane handles.
@SouthwestAir @AmericanAir small collision at LGA. American plane backed into our Southwest flight - Wing fell off! pic.twitter.com/UkOgaqf1F0— Andrew Steiner (@DrewSteiner) December 23, 2014
Port Authority Police arrived at the airport to look into the incident. Passengers were forced to deplane on the tarmac; the incident likely caused a few delays during the busy holiday travel week.
No injuries were reported.