Six members of Congress — including four from New York City — were aboard a plane headed to JFK Airport when it was struck by another aircraft on a taxiway at Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport, federal officials confirmed.
The incident occurred around 12:45 p.m. Monday as American Airlines Flight 4522 was preparing for departure to New York. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the flight was clipped by the wingtip of a separate plane headed to Charleston, South Carolina.
No injuries were reported.
Among those aboard the JFK-bound flight were Bronx U.S. Reps. Ritchie Torres and Adriano Espaillat, along with Queens U.S. Reps. Grace Meng and Gregory Meeks. They were joined by New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer and Long Island Rep. Nick LaLota, all traveling home for the congressional Easter and Passover recess.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said operations were briefly delayed following the collision, which occurred near the site of a deadly crash in January that killed 67 people.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Torres reassured Bronx constituents that he was safe — and still on his way home.
“I was just on a grounded plane that was struck by another aircraft,” Torres wrote. “Thankfully, no one was injured—just the inconvenience of a delayed departure. The Bronx: I’m coming home… eventually!”
Espaillat also posted after the incident, using the near-miss to criticize the Trump administration’s controversial decision to lay off hundreds of FAA workers earlier this year.
“Aviation mishaps are at an all-time high, and the Trump administration’s reckless decision to fire FAA control staff has put us all in danger,” Espaillat wrote. “We are thankful that no one was injured and that a catastrophe was avoided.”
Torres, speaking to the amNY, emphasized the dangers of federal workforce cuts.
“The Trump administration’s systematic decimation of the FAA is not an abstraction,” he said. “It has real-world consequences for aviation safety.”
