Probe as planes collide at airport

12 April 2012

Accident investigators are examining why two planes collided while taxiing to an airport runway.

Almost 300 passengers were on board the planes as they were being taken to Manchester Airport's first runway at 1.30pm on Tuesday.

The wing tip of a Futura Boeing 737 hit the tail of a Lufthansa Airbus A320, causing emergency services to rush to the scene.

An airport spokesman said there were no injuries and no other flights were delayed by the incident. He added: "We don't know whose fault it was. There will be a full investigation by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch. Any incident, big or small, has to be investigated."

All passengers were taken back to the departure lounge, and it is expected they will continue to their destinations later today.

The Airport Fire Service is assessing both aircraft before they return to Terminal One.

A spokeswoman for Lufthansa said: "Our flight LH4853 was parked with the brake on when another aircraft came by and just touched the tip of the wing.

"No-one was hurt and all the passengers are now safely back in the terminal building.

"We are hoping to be able to fly them all on to Germany today if possible."

The Lufthansa flight was carrying 108 passengers and crew to Frankfurt, Germany, whilst the Futura Airbus had 180 people on board and was bound for Tenerife.

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