Two planes clip wings at LAX

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Monday, September 14, 2015
2 planes clip wings at LAX
Simon Becerra captured a photo of the damage done to the United Airlines plane after it clipped wings with a departing flight at LAX on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015. (twitter.com/BecerraSimon)

LOS ANGELES, CA -- Two planes bumped wings at the Los Angeles International Airport Sunday night.

A United Airlines plane being taxied into Gate 73 from Newark, New Jersey clipped the left wing of a departing Alaska Airlines flight. The bump damaged the right stabilizer on the United plane and the left wing on the Alaska flight, which was headed to Portland, Oregon.

Audio from inside the plane was released, where the plane's captain is heard informing passengers of the incident.

"Thanks for your patience. I'm sure you'll hear all about this on the news this evening," he said. "Essentially, we stopped short of the gate because parking guides were expected and the aircraft behind us continued to push back from their gate, and the two aircraft met at the same point and at the same time."

No injuries were reported. There were 169 passengers and six crew members on the United Airlines flight and 182 passengers and six crew onboard the Alaska Airlines plane. Passengers heading to Portland were taken off the plane and re-booked on other flights.

Both planes were moved to hangars. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident.