Two United Airlines planes at the San Francisco International Airport clipped wings before their scheduled departure, the Federal Aviation Administration announced. The incident took place at about 12:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday “in an area where air traffic controllers do not communicate with flight crews,” the FAA said in a statement, CNN reported. United Flight 863 was backing out of the gate when its right wing clipped the left wing of United Flight 877. The former plane was destined for Sydney, Australia, while the latter had been headed to Hong Kong. A spokesperson for the airline said no injuries occurred, and everyone “deplaned normally.” They added: “We are working with our customers to rebook them on other flights.” A similar wing-clipping incident occurred April 10 between two American Airlines planes on the taxiway of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Seven members of Congress were in one of the planes, which was heading to New York. No injuries occurred. The FAA, under President Donald Trump, has cut its workforce, which has led to concern about the potential for negative ramifications for air safety. In February, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy defended firing “fewer than 400 employees” who he said were classified as probationary.
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