Try our newest merchandise
Two United Airways Boeing 737-900ER plane struck their wingtips throughout floor operations at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Tuesday night, leading to vital harm to at least one plane’s winglet and inflicting prolonged delays for passengers certain for Cleveland and Orlando.
The collision occurred throughout routine pushback operations round 4:30 p.m. native time, when United flight UA544 certain for Cleveland made contact with the wing of United flight UA2541 headed to Orlando. The affect tore off the tip of the winglet on one of many 737s, grounding each plane and forcing passengers to be deplaned for security inspections.
Floor Dealing with Error Blamed for Collision
United Airways has attributed the collision to a separation error by the bottom crew throughout the pushback process. The incident occurred when one Boeing 737-900ER was getting ready to taxi whereas one other plane had simply pushed again from its gate and are available to a cease on a parallel taxiway.
In keeping with aviation reviews, UA2541 was being pushed straight rearwards whereas the pushback crew of UA544 needed to flip the plane onto the taxiways. The error seems to have occurred throughout the flip of UA544, when the proper winglet of UA2541 struck the left winglet of UA544 from the entrance.
The collision occurred at low pace with each plane’s engines turned off, as floor crews had been chargeable for maneuvering the plane safely throughout the pushback operation.
No Accidents Reported, Passengers Reaccommodated
No accidents had been reported among the many 174 passengers and crew members aboard each flights. UA2541 was carrying 73 passengers and 6 crew members, whereas UA544 had 101 passengers and 6 crew members scheduled for Cleveland.
Each plane returned to their gates the place passengers had been in a position to deplane usually and await additional directions. United Airways shortly organized substitute Boeing 737-900ER plane to attenuate passenger disruption, although the incident nonetheless resulted in vital delays.
Flight Operations Resume with Delays
United Airways sourced two accessible Boeing 737-900ERs for each flights: N78438 for UA544 and N38459 for UA2541. Regardless of the airline’s efforts to attenuate delays, each flights skilled over two-hour delays.
UA544 ultimately departed Houston at 9:27 p.m. and arrived in Cleveland at 12:46 a.m., representing a delay of over two and a half hours from its unique 6:25 p.m. departure time. UA2541 departed Houston at 9:21 p.m. and arrived in Orlando at 12:04 a.m., greater than two hours behind its scheduled 6:33 p.m. departure.
Plane Injury and Return to Service
The collision induced various levels of injury to each plane. Regardless of receiving the extra seen harm with the torn winglet tip, plane N69806 has since been repaired and reentered service on November 21. Nonetheless, N68843 stays grounded with no future scheduled flights, suggesting both extra intensive harm or restricted upkeep capability.
Each plane had been instantly towed to United’s upkeep hangars for thorough inspections and repairs to make sure they meet all security requirements earlier than resuming regular operations.
Rising Sample of Floor Incidents
This Houston incident continues a regarding development of floor collisions at U.S. airports involving United Airways plane. In October 2025, a United Boeing 737-700 struck the tail of a parked Boeing 767-300ER whereas taxiing to its gate in Chicago. Earlier that month, two Delta Connection CRJ-900s collided at LaGuardia, injuring a flight attendant.
In September 2025, one other United Airways 737 struck the tail of one other 737 throughout pushback at San Francisco Worldwide Airport, demonstrating a sample of comparable ground-related incidents throughout the aviation trade.
Investigation and Security Measures
United Airways has launched an inner investigation into the incident and is reviewing its ground-handling protocols to stop related accidents sooner or later. The Federal Aviation Administration has not initiated a proper investigation, because the incident was categorised as a low-speed accident with no vital danger to flight security.
The airline emphasised in its assertion that substitute plane had been organized to make sure vacationers might proceed to their locations with minimal delay, although the collision highlights ongoing considerations about security throughout floor operations at main airports.
Aviation security consultants be aware that whereas floor collisions are usually much less harmful than in-flight incidents, they can lead to costly repairs, vital passenger delays, and potential security dangers if correct protocols should not adopted.
The incident underscores the advanced coordination required for protected floor operations at busy airports like Houston George Bush Intercontinental, the place a number of plane are concurrently pushing again, taxiing, and getting ready for departure on parallel taxiways and gates.
