Two aircraft have been grounded in Amsterdam following a collision. Earlier today, an easyJet Airbus A320 and a KLM Boeing 737 collided. The incident appears to have taken place while the easyJet aircraft was taxiing behind the KLM 737.

Occasionally aircraft collisions happen. The majority seem to happen during taxi and pushback at airports. Thankfully, while these incidents can damage the aircraft, passenger injuries are rare. However, they do often lead to the aircraft being withdrawn from service. This was the case with both aircraft involved in the collision earlier this morning in Amsterdam. However, this isn't the first aircraft collision to happen during taxi in Amsterdam.

What happened?

Earlier today, two flights were preparing to leave Amsterdam. easyJet flight 8868 was due to depart the Dutch city for London's Gatwick Airport at 07:05. It was due to arrive in London at 07:25.

Meanwhile, KLM's flight 1699 was due to depart Amsterdam Schipol for Madrid. The flight was due to depart Amsterdam at 07:00, arriving in Madrid at 09:35. However, a collision occurred between the two in Amsterdam. From the photos circulating on social media, it appears that easyJet's flight was taxing past the KLM flight as it was preparing for departure.

Without being there, I'm unable to comment on what exactly happened in the Amsterdam collision. However, from the photos and rumours circulating online, it looks as though the KLM Boeing 737 was pushed back at the same time that the easyJet Airbus A320 was taxiing past. This appears to have led to the 737's elevator becoming wedged in the A320's wing.

It's impossible at this stage to tell who is ultimately at fault. Although the staff pushing back the KLM 737 didn't notice the Airbus A320, there's also the chance that the ground controller missed the fact that the 737 was pushing back while giving the easyJet taxi instructions.

The aftermath

Following the Amsterdam collision, it has been reported that both aircraft were taken out of service in order to be repaired. Passengers were transferred onto alternate aircraft, following a delay. The easyJet flight was eventually operated by a replacement Airbus A320neo. It arrived in London 4-hours and 50-minutes late meaning that passengers could be eligible for compensation under EU-261.

The KLM flight eventually arrived in Madrid 2-hours and 20-minutes behind schedule, meaning that those passengers are, unfortunately, not eligible for compensation under the EU-261 scheme. As Amsterdam is KLM's base, they were likely able to quickly source a replacement. Meanwhile, easyJet passengers had to wait for their replacement aircraft to arrive from London following the Amsterdam collision.

Airline comments

Simple Flying spoke to an easyJet spokesperson who told us:

“easyJet can confirm that two aircraft made contact during pushback from stand, one of which was easyJet flight EJU8868 from Amsterdam to London Gatwick. Passengers have now disembarked into the terminal where they have been provided with updates and refreshment vouchers. The flight is now due to be operated by a replacement aircraft. The safety of its passengers and crew is easyJet's highest priority and an investigation has been launched in line with procedure to understand what happened.”

Simple Flying also contacted KLM, however, had yet to hear back at the time of writing.

What do you make of this Amsterdam collision? Were you involved? Let us know in the comments!