NEAR FORT MYERS, Fla. (WSVN) — A passenger on board a Florida plane shared the heart-stopping moment when the aircraft struck the wingtip of a parked plane.
Scott Miller said he was heading back to Springfield, Illinois on Monday on an Allegiant flight out of Punta Gorda Airport near Fort Myers when he felt a big bump.
“Then the pilot came on and said that this is a once-in-a-career experience, ‘I need to let you know we have collided with another plane,'” he said.
Miller said the aircraft’s wingtip had collided with the wing of a parked, empty plane. The Allegiant jet was backing up and taxiing to take off when it happened.
“One passenger had a clear view of where the accident happened. Everybody on the plane was passing their cellphones up to this one woman so she could take a picture of the accident and then send the phone back to the passenger,” said Miller, “so they could then text it to their family members to say, ‘Here’s what we’re dealing with, be in touch soon.'”
Miller’s flight was canceled and so were several others to and from Niagara Falls, Cleveland and Kansas City.
“Before we were even off the plane, I was on the Allegiant app, booking Wednesday’s flight, to be able to get out,” said Miller, “because I knew if I was to go stand in the ticket line with everybody else, I wouldn’t have gotten out till Friday.”
Seven hours after the plane was originally set to take off, the fire department come to cut off the tip of the wing that hit the second plane.
“It’s some holiday inconvenience, and now you’re bumping up against New Year’s,” said Miller. “I mean, I’m just glad I found a flight.”
Both planes sustained minor damage.
Passengeers on board the Allegiant flight were given a credit and a $250 check.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash.
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