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WASHINGTON — At least six members of Congress representing New York and New Jersey were aboard a plane that was struck by another aircraft Thursday afternoon on the tarmac at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the site of a Jan. 29 mid-air crash that killed 67 people.
“Serving in Congress has come with some once in a lifetime experiences … like just now while stationary on the runway at DCA, another plane just bumped into our wing,” Suffolk County Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) posted to X on Thursday. “Heading back to the gate, but thankfully everyone is ok!”
“(And @RepGraceMeng is handing out grapes!)” he added, referencing his Queens Democratic colleague.
Four other local Democrats — Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Ritchie Torres and Gregory Meeks of New York, as well as Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) — were also on board the plane at the start of a two-week recess for Passover and Easter.
Meng told The Post that she was “still hoping” to make a memorial service later Thursday for the late former Hudson Valley congresswoman Nita Lowey, who died March 15 at age 87.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed it would “investigate” the 12:45 p.m. incident on the DCA taxiway, when the JFK-bound American Airlines flight carrying the lawmakers was bumped by an AA Bombardier CRJ900 bound for Charleston, SC.
“American Eagle flight 5490, operated by PSA Airlines, made contact on a DCA taxiway with American Eagle flight 4522, operated by Republic Airways. Safety is our top priority, and we apologize to our customers for their experience,” an American Airlines spokesperson told The Post.
Both planes had damaged winglets and were taken out of service for both inspection and maintenance afterward, according to the carrier.
No one was injured in the incident, and all other flights were unaffected, a DCA spokesperson told The Post.
At least 143 people were onboard the two planes.
“I’ve been flying for over ten years to Washington. This has never happened to me,” Meng told reporters over Zoom after deplaning.
“We suddenly felt some shaking. The staff and the crew were very professional and kept everything orderly, calm and safe,” she recounted. “Some of the passengers said that they literally saw it clip the plane. And a little piece fell off, as you can see in the back. They’re fixing it right now. And they’re providing a different, new plane for us to fly back to New York.”
Gottheimer pointed to the incident as proof that “recent cuts to the FAA weaken our skies and public safety” in a post to X after the collision.
“While waiting to take off on the runway at DCA just now, another plane struck our wing. Thankfully, everyone is safe,” he said.
Meng also used the incident to highlight needs at the FAA, which has been under heightened scrutiny since the fatal collision at the same airport in January.
“Glad my colleagues and I are okay! We are safely waiting on the tarmac, but we may need more snacks,” she posted to X. “I’m grateful no one was hurt today, but this incident underscores this urgent need [to] restore all FAA jobs that keep our runways safe.”
LaLota’s team said that the rep “intends to bring this firsthand experience to his work in Congress, advocating for stronger aviation oversight and enhanced public safety to help prevent similar incidents in the future.”
Reagan National is home to one of the most crowded and complex patches of sky in the US, believed to be a major factor behind the January crash involving an American Airlines passenger plane and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter, the deadliest American air disaster since 2001.
While some reforms were made following that crash — including the rerouting of a helicopter flight path that intersected with the airport’s landing route — DCA has been plagued with a series of near-misses and other incidents since.
On March 29, a Delta Airlines plane carrying 136 people nearly collided during takeoff with a military jet group of four Northrop T38 Talons headed for a flyover at nearby Arlington National Cemetery.
A day later, a United Airlines flight hit a kite while landing at the airport, which experts at the time said could have been dangerous had the kite been sucked into the plane’s engine.
