A passenger plane carrying more than half a dozen members of Congress and two Israeli survivors of Hamas captivity clipped wings with another jet at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday, with all passengers reported safe.
Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y) and Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) were onboard American Airlines Flight 4522 bound for JFK in New York when the wingtip of American Airlines Flight 5490 bound for Charleston, S.C., struck their plane at about 12:45 p.m., per the Federal Aviation Administration.
“Serving in Congress has come with some once-in-a-lifetime experiences, like just now while stationary on the runway at DCA, another plane just bumped into our wing,” LaLota wrote on social media. “Heading back to the gate, but thankfully, everyone is OK. And Rep. Grace Meng is handing out grapes.”
Meeks said that there were seven members of Congress on the plane along with “dozens of other concerned passengers.”
Some of the congressmen used the incident to take aim at the Trump administration for job cuts at the Federal Aviation Administration.
“Aviation mishaps are at an all-time high, and the Trump administration’s reckless decision to fire FAA control staff has put us all in danger,” Espaillat wrote. “We are thankful that no one was injured and that a catastrophe was avoided.”
Keith and Aviva Siegel, two Israeli hostages recently freed by Hamas, were also on board.
Keith, a U.S. citizen, and Aviva were in Washington to advocate for the release of the 59 remaining hostages still held in Gaza. The two said that they were scared by the incident but it would not deter them from continuing their mission.
Reagan National has been the site of multiple high-profile aviation incidents in recent months. In January, an American Airlines flight and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided over the Potomac River, resulting in 67 deaths.
In March, a formation of military jets had a near-collision with a Delta Airlines flight, with CNN reporting that the aircraft came within five seconds of colliding. The day before that incident, an air-traffic controller was arrested and charged with assault and battery at the airport.
Torres said he was thankful that the only harm from Thursday’s incident was the inconvenience of a delayed departure.
“The Bronx: I’m coming home … eventually,” he wrote.
