TOKYO (AP) – Two passenger planes bumped into each other on a runway at a Tokyo airport yesterday but no injuries were reported, a government official said.
A Thai Airways International jet headed to Bangkok accidentally hit a parked Eva Airways plane headed to Taipei at Haneda airport, Transport Ministry Deputy Administrator Isamu Yamane said.
The runway was temporarily closed but re-opened about two hours later after it was cleared, Yamane said. Some flights were delayed and the cause of the accident was still under investigation.
Footage broadcast by TBS TV News showed two commercial jets stopped on the same runway. NHK TV showed an official picking up what appeared to be part of an airplane wing and removing it from the runway. The airlines were not immediately available for comment and did not answer repeated calls.
A winglet on the Thai Airways plane appeared to be damaged, according to photographs and media reports. Winglets are the vertical projections on the tip of the wing that reduce drag.
