A U.S. commercial flight with several lawmakers aboard experienced a small collision while taxiing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, on Thursday. The plane, which was supposedly stationary, was hit by another aircraft, causing the two jets to “clip wings,” initial reports said.
Flight Details and Incident Report
The plane involved was American Airlines flight AA4522, which was operated by Republic Airways. FlightAware data reports that the flight was to take off from DCA at 12:30 p.m. and fly to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, with the estimated time of flight at approximately 90 minutes.
NBC News verified the incident, which occurred while the aircraft was still on the ground, getting ready to depart. Luckily, there were no reports of injuries to the passengers or crew.
Lawmakers on Board Share Experiences
Some members of Congress were aboard the flight when the incident occurred. Congressman Nick LaLota posted a photo from within the plane and wrote on social media: “Serving in Congress has been accompanied by some once in a lifetime moments… such as just now sitting on the tarmac at DCA, when another plane just collided with our wing. Rounding back to the gate, but everyone is okay! (And @RepGraceMeng is distributing grapes!)”
New York Representatives Gregory Meeks and Adriano Espaillat also released statements on the incident and wider concerns about aviation safety.
“I am safe after another plane clipped our wing while on the runway at DCA. This close call underscores the urgent need for more FAA funding—people’s lives are at stake. Cuts and firing FAA employees are not the answer. Seven members of Congress were on board along with dozens of other concerned passengers,” Meeks wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Espaillat echoed the concern in a separate post:
This afternoon, a number of members of Congress, myself included and other passengers, were involved in a minor incident in which our plane had a wing clipping collision with another plane when taxiing at Ronald Reagan National Airport. Aviation accidents are an all-time high, and the Trump administration’s irresponsible decision to dismiss FAA control personnel has endangered our lives. We are relieved that no one was hurt and that a disaster was averted.
Additional Lawmakers Confirmed Onboard
Additional lawmakers on board the flight were New Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer and Representative Ritchie Torres. Although none of the passengers were injured, the incident has prompted renewed demands for enhanced aviation safety and additional funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Safety Concerns and FAA Scrutiny
Thursday’s crash contributes to an increasing number of near-miss aviation incidents raising serious questions over airport operations and air traffic control staffing. The fact that there were several members of Congress aboard underscored the gravity of the accident and provoked instant political debate over FAA policy and regulation.
To date, officials have issued no detailed announcement on the nature of the incident or any formal investigation report updates.