Minor Collision Occurred In Gate Area As One Plane Was Being Pushed Back, Other Taxiing To The Gate

Two Ryanair airliners were damaged Saturday morning at Stansted Airport in the U.K. when the wingtip of a plane being pushed back from the gate collided with the tailcone of a second aircraft that had just arrived at the airport and was about to disembark its passengers.

According to a report from the website breakingnews.ie, the wingtip of one of the planes was completely torn from the wing and fell to the ground.

"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," said a Stansted airport spokesperson. "The airport is operating as normal while an Air Accident Investigation Branch investigation takes place."

The Essex Police and Ryanair also confirmed the incident in statements released to the media. "This morning at London Stansted (June 28) the wing tip and tail cone of two Ryanair aircraft made contact while one aircraft was taxiing 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," the Ryanair statement said.

FMI: www.aaib.gov.uk