Runway reopens in Tokyo after 2 planes bump into each other
KYODO NEWS VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
This aerial photo shows the airplanes of Thai Airways International, left, and Eva Airways, right, sitting close on a runway, after the two passenger planes accidentally hit each other at Haneda airport in Tokyo, Saturday.
TOKYO >> Two passenger planes bumped into each other on a runway at a major Tokyo airport Saturday but no injuries were reported, a government official said.
A Thai Airways International jet headed to Bangkok accidentally hit a parked Eva Airways plane headed to Taipei at Haneda airport, said Isamu Yamane, a deputy administrator in the Transport Ministry.
The runway was temporarily closed after the incident but reopened about two hours later after it was cleared, Yamane said. Some flights were delayed and the cause of the accident was still under investigation.
Footage broadcast by TBS TV News showed two commercial jets stopped on the same runway. NHK TV showed an official picking up what appeared to be part of an airplane wing and removing it from the runway.
The airlines were not immediately available for comment and did not answer repeated calls.
A winglet on the Thai Airways plane appeared to be damaged, according to photographs and media reports. Winglets are the vertical projections on the tip of the wing that reduce drag.
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