Terrified flight passengers ‘shaken up’ as plane collides with another aircraft

A United Airlines flight was involved in a collision on the tarmac at San Francisco International Airport on Monday, with passengers on board both planes left terrified

Air travellers were left horrified when their plane was involved in a shocking collision just as they were about to take-off.

United Airlines Flight 1871 clashed with another aircraft on the runway at San Francisco International Airport on Monday, giving passengers a jolt as it reversed into a gate at the bustling US hub. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that the Denver-bound plane struck another United aircraft around 9.10am.

Flight 1871, a Boeing 737, clipped the tail of the parked Boston-bound Flight 796, which was getting ready to jet off. This forced the airline to evacuate the terrified passengers and carry on the journey with a replacement aircraft.

After the incident, United Airlines confirmed that passengers from both planes disembarked “deplaned normally” and no injuries were reported. Passengers have been sharing their shock at the moment of impact.

One passenger, who was en route to Boston, said they were “in the middle of boarding” when the plane “shook”. They revealed that flight attendants instructed them to disembark after one of the pilots announced they’d been hit, reports the Mirror.

They added: “FAs told us to deplane and one of the pilots said we’d been hit. Seems like United ground crew is having a tough year.”

Another traveller, bound for Denver, described feeling a “big shudder” when the planes collided, but noted that everyone was “all buckled up”.

The source continued: “We were in D16, so they backed us out, down the taxiway, then pulled a big U turn to get us facing forward. Near the end of the U-Turn apparently the tug connection broke, and instead of continuing to turn, the plane just kept going backwards at an angle and hit UA796 (SFO-BOS) which I believe was at E5.”

However, this wasn’t the only hiccup for San Francisco International and United on that day. A separate flight bound for Baltimore had to make a swift return to the airport due to a burning smell detected onboard Flight 2664.

United explained that the decision was made “to address a plastic burning smell” and the Boeing 737 Max 9, carrying 164 passengers, was promptly returned to land after it took off around 9.47am.

Mirroring the earlier incident, United confirmed that all passengers were safely evacuated from the aircraft and a replacement flight was swiftly organised.

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