A bizarre and concerning incident took place at New York JFK Airport on June 17th.
On this day, an ITA Airways Airbus A330-200 reportedly struck an Air France Boeing 777-200
while taxiing for departure.
Unaware that it had done so, the A330 continued with its takeoff and completed its flight
to Rome.
Let’s take a look at this extraordinary incident in today’s video…
On Friday, June 17th, an ITA Airways jet (still in Alitalia livery) was about to begin flight
AZ611 from New York to Rome Fiumicino.
The aircraft was an Airbus A330-200 registered EI-EJL, which is at present roughly 10 years
old.
Taxiing towards the runway for departure, the jet clipped an Air France Boeing 777-200,
registered F-GSPQ, which had arrived from Paris.
While the crew of the ITA Airways A330 was completely oblivious to a collision, the Air
France jet was well-aware of what had happened.
Reacting quickly, the 777's crew urged ATC to keep the ITA aircraft on the ground.
"This is Air France 008, we are on stand nine and there was an Alitalia passing behind us
that hit our aircraft.
It's so you can tell them not to take off,” the Air France pilot said.
However, by the time the situation was understood by ATC, the A330 was already in the air and
on its way across the Atlantic.
ATC contacted the ITA Airways jet and asked about the incident, but the crew denied that
it had been involved in any kind of incident while taxiing towards take-off.
The following conversation took place between air traffic control and the ITA Airways jet:
ATC: "Another aircraft on the ground currently, Air France, said you hit them or something
of that nature while you were taxiing.
Did you experience any damage to the aircraft?"
ITA Airways Pilot: "Negative, sir."
While the ITA Airways crew may have denied that any collision occurred (and genuinely
believed this to be the case), it would ultimately prove to be false.
According to reporting from ABC News, upon landing in Rome, wing damage was discovered
on the A330.
Details of the specific damage and its severity were not disclosed.
However, we do know that the Air France jet is still parked at New York JFK.
At the time of this video’s production, nearly two weeks have passed.
This length of time out of service could indicate severe damage to the 777.
As for the ITA A330, the aircraft touched down in Rome on June 18th and was on the ground
for roughly two days.
Seemingly an "easy fix," the jet's next service would be a flight to Tel Aviv, with subsequent
flights taking place almost every day since.
Speaking to ABC News, aviation analyst John Nance states that the responsibility of the
ITA Airways crew was clear upon being informed of a collision:
"He absolutely should have turned the airplane around, brought it back to JFK for inspection."
Indeed, with long-haul commercial aircraft being as large as they are, pilots may not
notice incidents if they are minor enough.
However, with the A330 departing with a cabin full of passengers, it's interesting that
none of these travelers even noticed the incident.
Or, if they did notice, then perhaps failed to inform any of the airline crew.
The FAA and ITA Airways are investigating the incident.
What's your reaction to this strange event and the actions of ATC and the ITA Airways
crew?
Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.