Two American Eagle Bombardier CRJ900s have been damaged at Dallas-Fort Worth airport in Texas after an accident involving a fuel truck. Both aircraft were preparing for departure at the time of the incident. No one was seriously injured but both planes are grounded for repairs.

What happened?

Although the full circumstances surrounding the incident have not yet been released, here’s what we do know.

Both aircraft arrived in Dallas-Forth Worth on Monday, one came from Albuquerque and the other from McAllen. The aircraft were parked side by side near gate 37, Terminal B. The planes were operating flights for Mesa Airlines which operates around 742 flights per day within the United States.

The airline operates as American Eagle and United Express via agreements with American and United Airlines. The two planes involved in the incident were both American Eagle aircraft.

The fuel truck crashed into the two planes as they were preparing for departure from Dallas Fort-Worth Airport on Monday.  One aircraft was bound for Lubbock, Texas, the other for Shreveport, Louisiana.

The damage to the planes forced American Airlines to cancel several of its domestic flights including flight the AA5740 to Shreveport and the AA5780 to Lubbock as well as a third flight AA5988 to Louisville. However, passengers from the canceled flights were rebooked onto alternative flights the same day.

Online reports

Reporter Jason Whitely shared a video on social media which shows the aftermath of the crash.

The truck in the video can be seen to belong to US fuelling specialist Allied Aviation and has come to rest with the wing of one aircraft (N945LR) lodged into its cabin. The truck sustained serious damage and the windscreen of the cabin is completely destroyed.

The video also shows damage to the part of the wing and the winglet of the second aircraft, Mesa Airlines’ N915FJ. The video has been watched almost 20,000 times. According to Whitley’s tweet, “Paramedics evaluated one flight attendant. No one seriously injured.”

The Independent is reporting an interview with an American Airlines spokesperson quoting a statement from the airline which confirms that no one was seriously hurt:

“On Monday morning at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), a vendor’s fuelling truck impacted two parked Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft. No passengers or crew members were seriously injured. American is reviewing the incident in coordination with the vendor.”

It is not yet clear what caused the truck to swerve into the two aircraft. However, while this may be a slightly unusual occurrence, it isn’t unheard of for planes to be damaged by other vehicles on the tarmac.

Other incidents

Dallas airport is not the only airport to have had to deal with a crash on the tarmac in recent months. Chicago O’Hare International Airport was in the headlines recently as an AWOL catering cart caused damage to an aircraft in October.

In another high-profile incident, Dortmund airport in Germany had an aircraft hit by a vehicle in April of this year. Although the damage was not significant the aircraft involved was the Bombardier Global 5000 used to fly German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The Chancellor had already left the aircraft at the time of the crash but the aircraft was grounded for repairs.

What do you think could have been the cause of the crash in Dallas? We’d love to hear your thoughts on the incident in the comment section below.