There’s been another runway collision incident

This year has been marked by an increase in collision/near-collision incidents between airplanes. The latest occurred on Friday, when a slow-taxiing United jet collided with a parked Delta plane on the ground at Boston’s Logan International Airport.

💥✈️ What happened: Per NBC News, the United Airlines flight was headed to Newark when the end of its wing – the vertical part known as a “winglet” – clipped the tail of the Delta plane, which was stopped and awaiting clearance for takeoff at the moment of collision. No injuries were reported.

And while the incident could be likened to a weak attempt at a plane “high-five,” it’s the latest in a series of collisions/near-collisions that have occurred so far this year.

• An about-to-land FedEx cargo plane and a Southwest Airlines plane cleared for takeoff on the same runway came within 100 feet of colliding at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas this past February.
• Last week, an American Airlines flight and Delta flight came within 200 feet vertically and 850 feet horizontally of each other while attempting to use the same runway at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

📸 Big picture: From 2018 to 2022, FAA data shows 23 incidents in which commercial passenger or cargo planes came close to colliding in the US. This year – with nine near misses or collisions – is on pace to almost match that total by itself.