ATLANTA (AP) — The pilot of a larger plane was looking away from the tail of a smaller plane when the larger plane’s right wing hit the tail and knocked it over while taxiing at Atlanta’s airport on the morning of Sept. 10, according to an aviation safety report.
The preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board says the pilot of a Delta Air Lines Airbus 350 was watching for oncoming traffic off his left wing as he taxied at about 14 mph (23 kph).
“The captain indicated that, as the airplane approached the intersection with taxiway V, he was looking straight ahead and to the left to avoid the left wingtip from impinging on opposite direction traffic coming off taxiway V,” the report states.
The tail of a smaller Bombardier CRJ-900 operated by Delta regional subsidiary Endeavor Air was sticking out on a perpendicular taxiway as it waited for permission to take off at the world’s busiest airport.
The NTSB report finds the regional jet stopped 56 feet (17 meters) short of the hold line painted on the taxiway. The A350’s right wing extends 106 feet (32.3 meters) from the center of the jet to tip, so that 56-foot distance may have been the margin between the right wing hitting the tail and missing it.