Horror as two planes collide in terrifying smash at major airport

Key Points

• A Delta Air Lines aircraft collided with an Air Canada aircraft at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at about 10.30am local time on Tuesday.
• Delta Flight 7 was taxiing for departure when its left wingtip clipped the horizontal stabiliser of Air Canada Flight 875.
• The Federal Aviation Administration said the Air Canada aircraft was being towed when it stopped short of its gate.
• Both airlines confirmed that the aircraft made contact and reported no injuries.
• Delta said 275 customers and 15 crew members were aboard its aircraft during the incident.
• Air Canada said its aircraft, which had arrived from Toronto, was taken out of service for inspection and repairs.
• Delta said its maintenance crews and airport teams would assess its aircraft.
• The FAA said it was investigating the incident.
• FlightAware reported that 26 flights were delayed at LAX by 1pm local time, while two flights had been cancelled.
• Arrival traffic was experiencing delays of about 15 minutes, although it was not immediately established whether those delays were directly connected to the collision.

Edition Online (EO) October 7, 2026 – A Delta Air Lines passenger aircraft and an Air Canada aircraft made contact at Los Angeles International Airport after the Delta jet’s wingtip struck the horizontal stabiliser of the Air Canada aircraft. The incident happened at about 10.30am local time while the Delta flight was preparing to depart and the Air Canada aircraft was being moved at the airport. No injuries were reported by either airline, while the Federal Aviation Administration opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the contact.

What happened when the two aircraft collided at Los Angeles International Airport?

The collision occurred on the ground at Los Angeles International Airport, rather than during flight, involving aircraft operated by Delta Air Lines and Air Canada.

According to the information provided by the Federal Aviation Administration, Delta Air Lines Flight 7 was taxiing for departure when it made contact with Air Canada Flight 875. The Delta aircraft’s left wingtip clipped the horizontal stabiliser of the Air Canada aircraft.

The FAA said the Air Canada aircraft was being towed at the time and had stopped short of its gate. The circumstances meant that one aircraft was moving as part of the departure process while the other was being positioned at the airport.

The incident was reported at approximately 10.30am local time on Tuesday.

The collision did not result in reported injuries. Both airlines subsequently confirmed that their aircraft had made contact.

The FAA said it was investigating the incident, meaning the precise circumstances leading to the aircraft coming into contact remained subject to examination.

How did Delta Air Lines describe the incident?

Delta Air Lines confirmed that its aircraft was involved in the ground contact at LAX while preparing for departure.

The airline said there were 275 customers and 15 crew members aboard the aircraft at the time. That means 290 people were on board the Delta aircraft when the incident occurred.

Delta said its maintenance crews and airport teams would assess the aircraft following the contact. The airline’s statement did not indicate that passengers or crew had suffered injuries.

The aircraft involved was Delta Flight 7, which was preparing to depart when its left wingtip clipped the horizontal stabiliser of the Air Canada aircraft.

The airline’s response placed the focus on assessing the aircraft and determining the extent of any damage after the contact.

Because the incident occurred while the Delta aircraft was taxiing, it happened before the flight had become airborne.

What did Air Canada say about its aircraft?

Air Canada also confirmed that its aircraft had made contact with the Delta aircraft.

The Air Canada aircraft was Flight 875 and had arrived from Toronto before the incident. It was being towed when the contact occurred, according to the FAA’s account.

Air Canada said its aircraft was taken out of service for inspection and repairs.

The decision to remove the aircraft from service allowed the airline to assess the consequences of the contact before the aircraft could return to normal operations.

No injuries were reported in Air Canada’s statement.

The available information therefore indicates that the immediate consequences centred on aircraft inspection and operational disruption rather than injuries to passengers or crew.

What did the FAA say about the airport collision?

The Federal Aviation Administration said it was investigating the incident.

The agency’s account provided an important detail about the movements of the two aircraft. It said the Air Canada aircraft was being towed and stopped short of its gate, while the Delta aircraft was taxiing for departure.

The FAA also identified the aircraft contact as involving the Delta aircraft’s left wingtip and the horizontal stabiliser of the Air Canada aircraft.

An investigation by the aviation regulator is expected to establish the sequence of movements and the circumstances surrounding the contact.

At this stage, the available information does not establish that either airline was responsible for the incident. The investigation remains important in determining what happened and why the two aircraft came into contact on the airport surface.

Were there any injuries after the aircraft made contact?

No injuries were reported following the collision.

Delta said there were 275 customers and 15 crew members aboard its aircraft, while Air Canada also confirmed the contact without reporting injuries.

The absence of reported injuries means the incident’s immediate consequences were focused on the aircraft involved and the subsequent inspection process.

The aircraft were on the ground at LAX, which meant there was no in-flight emergency associated with the incident.

Nevertheless, contact between two aircraft on an airport surface is subject to regulatory investigation because ground movements involve multiple aircraft, vehicles, towing operations and airport personnel operating within confined areas.

The FAA’s investigation will therefore be relevant in establishing the circumstances of the incident.

Did the collision cause flight delays at LAX?

Flight operations at Los Angeles International Airport were experiencing delays after the incident, although the available information did not establish that the delays were directly caused by the aircraft contact.

Live arrival traffic at LAX was experiencing delays of about 15 minutes.

FlightAware reported that 26 flights at the airport were delayed as of 1pm local time, while two flights had been cancelled.

Those figures provide a snapshot of airport operations several hours after the incident, but they do not by themselves demonstrate that the collision caused all or any of those delays.

Airport operations can be affected by a range of factors, including aircraft movements, weather, air traffic management, gate availability and other operational issues.

The distinction is therefore important. The aircraft contact was confirmed, and flight delays were also being recorded, but the information available did not directly link the two developments.

Which aircraft were involved in the LAX incident?

The aircraft involved were a Delta Air Lines aircraft operating Flight 7 and an Air Canada aircraft operating Flight 875.

Delta Flight 7 was preparing to depart and was taxiing when the contact occurred.

Air Canada Flight 875 had arrived from Toronto and was being towed when it stopped short of its gate.

The FAA said the Delta aircraft’s left wingtip clipped the horizontal stabiliser of the Air Canada aircraft.

Air Canada subsequently said its aircraft was out of service for inspection and repairs. Delta said its maintenance crews and airport teams would assess its aircraft.

The statements from the two airlines and the FAA therefore establish the basic sequence but leave the full circumstances to the regulatory investigation.

What is known about the investigation?

The FAA said it was investigating the incident.

An investigation is significant because the initial accounts describe the aircraft movements but do not provide a complete explanation of how the contact occurred.

The available information establishes that the Delta aircraft was taxiing, while the Air Canada aircraft was being towed. It also establishes the location of the contact on the aircraft: Delta’s left wingtip and Air Canada’s horizontal stabiliser.

Further findings would be needed to establish the precise sequence of events and whether any operational or communication factors contributed.

Neither airline has been identified in the supplied information as being responsible for the incident, and no conclusion about fault should be drawn before the investigation is completed.

What happened to the aircraft after the collision?

Air Canada said its aircraft was taken out of service for inspection and repairs.

Delta said its maintenance crews and airport teams would assess its aircraft.

These measures mean that the aircraft were not simply returned immediately to normal service after the contact. Instead, their condition was to be examined before decisions were made about their operational status.

The extent of any damage was not specified in the information available.

That assessment will determine what repairs, if any, are required before the aircraft can resume normal operations.

For passengers and airline operations, the removal of an aircraft from service can have consequences beyond the immediate incident because aircraft are scheduled for subsequent flights. However, no specific additional cancellations or disruptions were attributed to the collision in the supplied information.

What does the LAX incident mean for passengers and airport operations?

For passengers at Los Angeles International Airport, the immediate reported impact was a period of delays affecting airport traffic.

FlightAware recorded 26 delayed flights and two cancellations by 1pm local time, while live arrival traffic was experiencing delays of around 15 minutes.

However, there was no confirmed evidence in the supplied information that all those disruptions were caused by the collision.

The most significant confirmed operational consequence for the airlines involved was the need to inspect their aircraft. Air Canada’s aircraft was specifically taken out of service for inspection and repairs, while Delta’s aircraft was to be assessed by maintenance crews and airport teams.

The FAA investigation will provide further information about the incident and its operational circumstances.

What is the background to the aircraft collision at LAX?

Ground aircraft contacts can occur during the complex movement of aircraft around busy airports, where departing aircraft taxi between gates and runways while arriving aircraft are positioned, parked or towed.

Los Angeles International Airport handles substantial passenger and aircraft traffic, making the coordination of aircraft movements an important part of its daily operations.

In this incident, the Delta aircraft was preparing for departure while the Air Canada aircraft had already arrived from Toronto and was being towed. The FAA’s description establishes that the Air Canada aircraft stopped short of its gate before the Delta aircraft’s left wingtip clipped its horizontal stabiliser.

The incident was reported at approximately 10.30am local time.

Both airlines reported that there were no injuries, while each began assessing the condition of the aircraft. Air Canada said its aircraft would remain out of service for inspection and repairs, and Delta said its maintenance and airport teams would inspect its aircraft.

The FAA’s investigation remains the principal process for determining the circumstances surrounding the contact.

What could the LAX aircraft collision mean for airline passengers?

The immediate effect for passengers is expected to centre on aircraft availability and possible operational changes involving the two aircraft, although the information currently available does not establish the extent of any wider disruption.

Air Canada’s aircraft was removed from service for inspection and repairs, while Delta was assessing its aircraft. If an aircraft is unavailable for scheduled operations, airlines may need to make operational adjustments, although no specific further cancellations or schedule changes were attributed to this incident in the supplied reports.

For passengers travelling through LAX, the reported airport delays were relatively limited at the time of the available update, with arrival traffic experiencing delays of around 15 minutes.

The longer-term implications will depend largely on the findings of the FAA investigation and the results of aircraft inspections.

At present, the confirmed facts are that the two aircraft made contact on the ground, no injuries were reported, the aircraft were being assessed, and the FAA was investigating.

The incident demonstrates the importance of precise coordination during airport ground movements, particularly where departing aircraft and aircraft being towed operate within the same airport environment. Any further conclusions about the cause or responsibility should await the findings of the investigation.