Shortly after 10pm last night, a Sri Lankan Airlines Airbus A320 crashed into a British Airways Boeing 747 as it taxied to the runway at Heathrow Airport. The Airbus was carrying 296 passengers, bound for Sri Lanka, and sliced off six feet of the left wing of the BA flight. Panic spread throughout the plane after the impact. The Airbus struck the Boeing from behind, as the wing tip of the plane was driven into the fuelslage of the Boeing 747 and dragged throught, tearing a section of the wing off as it went.
Over 600 passengers from the two flights had to wait for an overnight investigation to reach a conclusion. Passengers had to be taken to two hotels near Heathrow, and others were taken to hotels in Wembley. All passengers were bereft of their luggage, which was kept in the luggage departments of both planes. There were some passengers who missed connecting flights, but were offered compensation. Some passengers have been presented with the opportunity to continue their journeys on other flights.
An immediate investigation was carried out after the incident. The investigation has reported that the BA flight was 'parked on the taxiway awaiting take-off instruction'. It is also reported that the Boeing 747's brakes were fully on and it was not moving. there is now further investigation as to whether the Airbus had performed an unauthorised move or whether the Boeing was parked at the wrong section of the runway. A BA spokesman decribed the incident as a ''minor collision''.
Despite the danger involved in the incident, no passengers or staff were injured.