So This Fiat Hits a Renault …

In an instance that speaks to the set-up of a decent joke, an Italian Airbus was involved in a hit-and-run collision with a French Boeing—in New York. On 17 June 2022, an ITA Airways Airbus A330-200 operating as flight AZ611 from New York to Rome Fiumicino struck an Air France Boeing 777-200 newly arrived from Paris CDG.

Acutely aware of the collision, the Air France flight-crew urged ATC to keep the ITA aircraft on the ground.

"This is Air France 008,” one of the 777’s pilots radioed, “we are on stand nine and there was an Alitalia [the Airbus had yet to be repainted in ITA livery] passing behind us that hit our aircraft. It's so you can tell them not to take off."

Regrettably, by the time ATC comprehended the situation, the ITA Airbus—the crew of which hadn’t the slightest inkling they’d sideswiped a 64-meter long 777–was airborne and on its way across the Atlantic.

ATC subsequently contacted the ITA Airbus and inquired after the incident. The crew, however, denied it had been involved in any kind of incident while taxiing for take-off. The following radio exchange ensued.

ATC: "Another aircraft on the ground currently, Air France, said you hit them or something of that nature while you were taxiing. Did you experience any damage to the aircraft?"

ITA Airways Pilot: "Negative, sir."

The ITA crew’s denial of the incident—which derived of genuine unawareness, not misfeasance—ultimately proved false. Upon landing in Rome, damage was discovered on the A330’s wing. Details of the damage and its severity have yet to be disclosed.

The Air France 777 remains parked at JFK. Whether or not the protracted interval of idleness connotes severe damage to the aircraft remains unknown. What is known is that the ITA Airbus has returned to regular passenger service.

Naturally, a sententious media has framed the incident in officious sanctimony—burning the ITA pilots in effigy prior to the conclusion of an ongoing, joint FAA-ITA investigation.

Indeed, the sheer size of modern, long-haul wide-body aircraft often precludes the recognition of minor ground and taxi incidents by flight-crews and passengers alike.

In any case, the punchline of the ITA-Air France occurrence stands to be drawn-out, complex and decidedly unfunny.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov