Earlier this week, an Endeavor Air Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft suffered a wingtip strike upon landing in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The plane had just completed a short hop from nearby Atlanta, Georgia. But what were the consequences of this incident?
The flight in question
Delta Air Lines flight DL4757 is a daily scheduled service from Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) to Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA). Endeavor Air operates the flight under Delta's regional feeder brand, Delta Connection. Its scheduled departure time is set at 13:40, with arrival in Chattanooga occurring just 49 minutes later at 14:29.
Interestingly enough, RadarBox.com reports that the return leg to Atlanta also operates under the same flight number. Delta and its regional brand have a monopoly on this route, which is by far Chattanooga's busiest in terms of passengers carried. This is unsurprising, as a quick look on Delta's website shows that it is operating six ATL-CHA flights per weekday despite the pandemic.
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What happened?
On March 18th, flight DL4757 departed Atlanta six minutes behind schedule, at 13:46 local time. However, the service was able to overcome this late start inflight. As such, after just 24 minutes in the air, it landed in Chattanooga at 14:10. However, touchdown was not as smooth as hoped.
According to The Aviation Herald, DL4757 landed on runway 20 at Chattanooga. This is the airport's longest of two landing strips, measuring 2,256 meters long. However, upon touching down here, the aircraft suffered a wingtip strike, as the end of its left wing struck the runway surface. Thankfully, this did not compromise the aircraft's landing rollout, which it completed without further incident or any injuries.
The aircraft involved
The Bombardier CRJ900 that suffered the wingtip strike in Chattanooga on March 18th bears the registration N910XJ. According to Planespotters.net, it is 13.6 years old, having first been delivered to Mesaba Airlines in October 2007.
SeatGuru reports that such aircraft sport a two-class, 76-seat configuration. This consists of 12 first class recliners, and 64 economy class seats. 20 of these are designated as extra legroom 'Delta Comfort+' spaces. A small number of Endeavor Air's CRJ900s feature a so-called 'Atmosphere Cabin' configuration. This setup has six fewer standard economy class seats.
Data from RadarBox.com shows that N910XJ is yet to return to service following this incident. Simple Flying has contacted Delta for an update on its condition. This meant that a replacement aircraft, N914XJ, had to be flown in from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), Michigan, to operate DL4757's return leg.
It arrived in Chattanooga at 17:46, and eventually left with the delayed Atlanta-bound passengers at 19:23. Touchdown at Hartsfield-Jackson eventually took place 28 minutes later, at 19:51 local time. This represented a total delay of just over three-and-a-half hours compared to its scheduled arrival time of 16:12.
What do you make of this incident? Have you ever flown on one of Endeavor Air's CRJ900 aircraft? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.