ITA A330 Keeps Going After Clipping Air France 777

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An ITA Airways A330 apparently grazed an Air France Boeing 777 at JFK earlier this month and then carried on with its flight to Rome. According to Simpleflying, the ITA crew was warned the collision had taken place by ATC but dismissed it and kept climbing over the Atlantic. The Air France crew definitely felt the collision and got on the radio to ATC. “There was an Alitalia (the ITA plane was still in its old livery) passing behind us that hit our aircraft,” an Air France pilot said. “It’s so you can tell them not to take off.”

There was apparently some confusion in the cab and by the time controllers got hold of the ITA crew they were already climbing out. “Another aircraft on the ground currently, Air France said you hit them or something of that nature while you were taxiing,” the controller said. “Did you experience any damage to the aircraft? And ITA pilot replied “Negative, sir.” On arrival in Rome, the ground crew spotted damage to the wing but the A330 was back in service two days later. The Air France 777 is still at JFK.

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19 COMMENTS

  1. The ITA plane is back in the air after 2 days in the hangar in Rome and the Air France plane is still grounded at JFK.

    Wonder if the ITA crew decided to escape the mountain of FAA paper left behind for more favorable home country?

    • None of the automotive sensors are certified to any standard. If these kind of sensors were to be put on airliners they would have to meet some kind of FAA standard, therefore exponentially increasing their cost.

      • That’s true, and the parking sensors, not to be confused with adaptive cruise or self driving sensors, may not work that well in the application. I wonder if it’s been tested with any seriousness.

        I think it would be worthwhile in the nose or tail though (I’ve watched airliners try to squeeze in to help ground or the tower).

        I know diesel exhaust sometimes sets mine off if I’m next to a bus at a light. So, that tech may just not work around kerosene burners.

  2. Jets keep getting larger, airports keep getting more traffic, especially those handling trans-ocean flights. But none of our major airports is getting any more real estate to handle the load. We can expect more of this type of “fender rash” incidents in the future.