On July 24th, two Delta Air Lines planes suffered a minor ground collision at Miami International Airport (MIA) in Florida. Delta flights 2911 and 1654, bound for Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), respectively, were involved in the incident. Let’s take a closer look at what happened.

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Ground collision at MIA

Delta Air Lines flight number 2911, a regularly scheduled service from MIA to BOS, was due to depart at 11:35 local time. Meanwhile, flight number 1654 was scheduled to depart MIA at 12:05. The Boston-bound flight was operated by a Boeing 737, while the flight to Atlanta operated using a Boeing 757.

It isn’t clear what exactly happened on Sunday, but photos posted on Twitter by a passenger on the Atlanta-bound plane suggest that the tail section of the 757 came in contact with the right wingtip of the 737. The user says ground crew were pushing back the 737 when the incident occurred. The 757 was still boarding passengers at the time. Thankfully, no passengers or ground crew were hurt in the incident.

Following the minor collision, boarding on flight 1654 was stopped, and passengers on the other flight were deboarded after the plane was taken to another gate.

Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-832 N3730B
A Boeing 737 collided with a Boeing 757 during pushback for departure. Photo: Delta Air Lines

A statement from Delta Air Lines said,

“We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and delay in their travel plans following minor, low-speed contact of Delta flight 2911 with Delta flight 1654. All customers and crew members deplaned safely and normally. Maintenance teams are evaluating the condition of the aircraft and customers have been re-accommodated on new aircraft onto their destinations.”

Simple Flying has written to Delta Air Lines seeking more details into the incident, like the current state of both aircraft and damage incurred during the collision. This article will be updated when a response is received.

A special aircraft

While we’re awaiting official confirmation on the specific airframes involved in the collision, we managed to glean some details from photos posted on Twitter. The aircraft affected are identified to be N3744F (Boeing 737) and N823DX (Boeing 757). Data from ch-aviation.com shows N3744F is a 21.4-year-old 737 with 68,528 flight hours under its belt up to April 30th, 2022. N823DX is 18 years old with 43,996 flight hours.

A Delta Air Lines Boeing B757-232 in Mexico City
The A321neo will primarily replace the B757-200 (shown here) on both routes. Photo: Guillermo Quiroz Martínez via @gquimar.

Interestingly, N823DX is the last production 757 built by Boeing. The aircraft was initially ordered by Shanghai Airlines, with delivery taking place in 2005. It flew under the registration B-2876 for approximately a decade, after which Delta Air Lines acquired the aircraft and registered it in the US. In contrast, the other aircraft involved has been with Delta from the very beginning.

Both planes feature three-class cabin configurations. The 737 offers 108 economy seats, 36 in Delta Comfort +, and 16 recliner seats in first class. Similarly, the 757 seats 132 passengers in economy, 41 in Comfort +, and 20 in first class.

How do you think this collision occurred? Please, share your thoughts in the comments.