Plane carrying lawmakers involved in small collision at Washington airport

A plane that carried several lawmakers on Thursday was involved in a minor collision at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which was the same airport involved in a major deadly aircraft collision in January.

It is not clear how many lawmakers were on board the flight, but no injuries have been reported. Both planes involved in the incident were connected to American Airlines, according to NBC News. 

GOP New York Rep. Nick LaLota, New York Democratic Rep. Grace Meng, and New Jersey Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer were among the lawmakers on the flight. Democratic New York Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Gregory Meeks, and Ritchie Torres were also reportedly on the plane. 

“Serving in Congress has come with some once in a lifetime experiences … like just now while stationary on the runway at DCA, another plane just bumped into our wing,” LaLota posted to X. “Heading back to the gate, but thankfully everyone is ok!”

One of the flights involved in the collision was bound for Charleston, South Carolina, and was carrying 76 passengers and four crew members. The other flight was bound for New York City.

"American Eagle flight 5490, operated by PSA Airlines, made contact on a DCA taxiway with American Eagle flight 4522, operated by Republic Airways," American Airlines said in a statement. "Safety is our top priority, and we apologize to our customers for their experience."

In January an American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and plunged into the Potomac River alongside Washington, D.C., killing all 64 people onboard the plane and three people on the helicopter. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.