On a (broken) wing and a prayer! Southwest jet loses WINGTIP in LaGuardia airport brush-up with American Airlines plane

  • American Airlines Flight 1104 from Dallas was taxiing as Southwest Airlines Flight 449 to Denver was departing
  • Southwest jet lost its left winglet - a vertical fin designed to improve airflow and fuel efficiency 
  • No passengers on either plane were injured 
  • American return flight to Dallas has been delayed at least 3 hours

By Associated Press and Snejana Farberov for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

A pair of jets at New York's LaGuardia Airport got a little too close for comfort Tuesday morning, with one ripping the wingtip off the other. 

American Airlines Flight 1104 from Dallas was taxiing to its gate just before 11am as Southwest Airlines Flight 449 to Denver was departing.

The left winglet — a vertical fin at the tip of a wing designed to improve airflow and fuel efficiency — was sheared off the Southwest plane after it made contact with the American jet's left horizontal stabilizer, part of the tail. Both planes were Boeing 737s. No passengers on either plane were injured.

Too close: Southwest Airlines Flight 449 lost a part of its wing when the jet brushed past American Airlines Flight 1104

Too close: Southwest Airlines Flight 449 lost a part of its wing when the jet brushed past American Airlines Flight 1104

Coming and going: The American flight from Dallas was taxiing to its gate as the Southwest flight to Denver was departing

Coming and going: The American flight from Dallas was taxiing to its gate as the Southwest flight to Denver was departing

American spokesman Joshua Freed said in an email that the airline's plane 'was taxiing with the help of ground personnel walking near each wingtip.'

The 143 Southwest passengers and five crew members exited the jet via stairs and were then taken by bus off the tarmac. 

The aircraft was taken out of service for inspection and repairs. Southwest is finding alternative ways to get the passengers to their destination, according to spokesman Brad Hawkins.

Arí Isaacman Astles, a growth strategy editor at the New York Times, was aboard the stricken Southwest plane and tweeted a photo showing an airport employee carrying the sliced-off piece of the wing across the rainswept tarmac. 

Clipped: A winglet is a vertical fin at the tip of a wing designed to improve airflow and fuel efficiency

Witness account: Arí Isaacman Astles, a growth strategy editor at the New York Times, was aboard the stricken plane and tweeted a photo showing an airport employee carrying the sliced-off piece of the wing

The American plane, with 143 passengers and six crew members, made it to gate D7 and passengers left the aircraft via the jet bridge. The return flight to Dallas has been delayed at least 3 hours.

The Southwest jet moved out of the taxiway on its own power, according to Ron Marsico, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport. 

Marsico said there are no other delays because of this accident and that the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating 

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