Two planes collide on Seattle airport tarmac

SEATTLE — A Japan Airlines plane that was taxiing on the tarmac of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport apparently struck the tail of a parked Delta aircraft on Wednesday morning, airport authorities said.

Authorities responded to the incident around 10:17 a.m., the airport said on X. There were no injuries, and airport authorities were working to get the passengers off the airplane and bring them back to the terminal.

Delta spokesperson Samantha Moore Facteau said in an email that its Boeing 737 was waiting to have ice removed from its exterior when the wing tip of another aircraft reportedly made contact with its tail. Deicing, as it’s known, can occur before a flight begins to taxi to the runway, she said.

There were 142 passengers onboard Delta flight 1921 to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and they were being transferred to a new aircraft, she said. There were no reports of injuries for crew or passengers.

Japan Airlines did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Airport operations were minimally impacted as the incident occurred on a taxi lane, authorities said.

John F. McCarthy is a veteran journalist in the Caribbean, writing from the "Decision Space" where survival meets the surreal. His reporting steel was tempered by a lineage of legendary editors and broadcasters, including Ed Wynn Brant (The Bomb), Owen Eschenroder (Ann Arbor News), Lynelle Emanuel (BVI Beacon), and Charles Thanas (WSVI-TV). Alongside longtime colleague Kenneth C. "Casey" Clark, McCarthy has navigated the front lines of the territory’s history—from the 1997 volcanic "snow" to every major hurricane since Hugo. Known for leaning out of doorless helicopters to capture the "money shot," McCarthy now edits the V.I. Free Press, providing the essential link between the island's colonial past and its SpaceX future.