Summary American Eagle's Embraer E175 collided with a tug vehicle, delaying Flight 4487 to Kansas City by 6 hours. The replacement E175, operated by Republic Airways, allowed passengers to continue their journey without injuries. On-gate collisions like these are not uncommon, as seen in other incidents involving widebody aircraft, leading to repairs.
An American Eagle flight to Kansas City (MCI) was delayed after the airline's Embraer E175 regional jet collided with a tug vehicle at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), Pennsylvania, the United States, on August 17, 2024. The incident details The Embraer E175 aircraft was operating American Eagle flight 4487, operated by Republic Airways, from Philadelphia (PHL) to Kansas City International Airport (MCI) when the aircraft made contact with a tug vehicle during pushback. As a result, the E175, registered as N136HQ, was taken out of service for inspection.
After the collision, passengers were deplaned and re-departed on a replacement Embraer E175 aircraft, registered as N137HQ. According to FlightAware.com , the flight departed with a delay of six hours.
In a comment to Simple Flying, an American Airlines spokesperson confirmed the incident and added: "We never want to disrupt our customers' travel plans and apologize for the inconvenience this caused." Flight 4487, bound for MCI airport, was nearly full, with 65 passengers and four crew members onboard. According to the airline, no passenger or crew member was injured.
However, the tug driver was transported to the hospital for observation. About Republic Airways Embraer E175 The aircraft involved in the collision was the 16.1-year-old Embraer E175 operated by Republic Airways.
According to ch-aviation data, the regional jet can accommodate a total of 76 passengers in a three-class cabin configuration: 44 in economy class, 20 in economy plus, and 12 in business class. The replacement aircraft, registered as N137HQ, was also Republic Airways' 16.1-year-old Embraer E175, which had an identical cabin configuration.
It is worth noting that American Eagle is American Airlines' regional airline division, consisting of six separate carriers that handle short and medium-haul flights. Republic Airways is one of the six carriers operating regional routes on American Airlines' behalf and under the American Eagle brand. Out of the six airlines, SkyWest and Republic are the largest regional carriers in terms of their fleet size.
Not a rare occurrence Incidents of this nature are not rare. On-gate collisions most commonly involve the parked aircraft being struck by support equipment and could also be caused by maneuvering aircraft. In April 2024, an Airbus A350-1000 widebody aircraft operated by Virgin Atlantic suffered an incident with a ground service vehicle at New York JFK airport.
The widebody jet was stationary when the vehicle was believed to have rolled into its left engine cowling. The airline has opened an investigation and is performing a thorough inspection of the plane. Another incident of a similar nature took place in January 2024 when an Airbus A321 operated by Lufthansa was severely damaged at Frankfurt Airport (FRA).
A catering vehicle operated by Gate Gourmet approached the plane to prepare it for its next flight but collided with the fuselage below the aft door. Repairing the aircraft will likely take months..
