On September 10, 2024, at approximately 10:07 EDT, an Airbus A350-941, registration N503DN, collided with a Mitsubishi CRJ-900 while taxiing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) in Georgia. The collision occurred at the intersection of taxiway E and taxiway H.
What happened
The A350, operated by Delta Air Lines, was taxiing toward runway 8R for an international flight to Tokyo Haneda. During the taxi, the flight crew observed a navigational alert message, "NAV GNSS-2," on the electronic centralized aircraft monitor. The first officer notified air traffic control that the crew needed to stop to coordinate with maintenance. Air traffic control instructed the crew to continue straight on taxiway E as able and hold short of taxiway V.
The captain of the A350 reported that while approaching the intersection with taxiway V, he was looking straight ahead and to the left to avoid potential traffic coming from the opposite direction. During this maneuver, the right wingtip of the N503DN impacted the vertical stabilizer of the CRJ-900, which was holding short of runway 8R at taxiway H.
The CRJ, operated by Endeavor Air, was stationary at the hold-short line. The impact caused substantial damage to the CRJ's empennage and minor damage to the A350. There were no fatalities, and all passengers and crew were not injured, with the exception of one minor injury sustained by a flight attendant aboard the CRJ.
The investigation
The NTSB investigation included the examination of both aircraft and the retrieval of flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders from both planes. Analysis of ADS-B and preliminary flight data recorder information showed the collision occurred at 10:07:46, with the A350 taxiing at a groundspeed of approximately 12 knots. The data also indicated the CRJ experienced lateral accelerations and a heading rotation of approximately 9 degrees clockwise due to the impact.