SFO

United Airlines jet clips wing with parked plane at SFO

NBC Universal, Inc.

A United Airlines plane recently clipped a wing of another aircraft as it tried to park at San Francisco International Airport.

The incident happened Thursday evening.

According to a United spokesperson, the winglet of the jet made contact with the wing of a parked United aircraft while parking at a gate. They added that no injuries occurred and passengers deplaned normally.

The gate where the plane was trying to park isn't a usual gate as it has two parking spots.

Retired airline pilot Doug Rice talked to NBC Bay Area about the latest incident on Friday and he pointed out that the geometry of the gate, trying to get two planes to fit in tight quarters poses a potential hazard.

Rice also pointed out that United’s ground personnel may have either had a training or communication issue. All of which will be considered by the FAA during the investigation.

“There's no question in my mind that a number of the incidents that have occurred have been what we would call 'SFO-centric,'” Rice said. “Whether it's maintenance-related, whether it’s from care from mechanics, procedures processes, what the causes are and it appears and has appeared for several weeks that San Francisco is the hub for several of these issues."

For United, it's the latest in a series of issues over the past few weeks.

This includes a flight that rolled off the runway in Texas. A SFO to Japan flight that lost a tire on takeoff and an SFO to Medford, Oregon flight that arrived missing an engine cover.

In addition to the tire and panel incidents, multiple united flights from SFO last month reported hydraulic leaks, including one where hydraulic fluid could be seen spilling from the plane as it took off.

The two aircrafts in the latest incident will be inspected and repaired before going back into service.

A United Airlines spokesperson confirmed Friday that one of their planes recently clipped a wing of another aircraft as it tried to park at SFO. Raj Mathai speaks with retired pilot Doug Rice on this.
Contact Us