Boarding a flight for a family vacation feels like the start of an adventure. But sometimes the adventure gets paused in order to address an appalling safety issue.
Jessica Muro (@jess.muro) and her family were headed to Tokyo. But that flight was delayed after two planes collided. In a TikTok recorded from her seat on the Delta Air Lines plane, Muro appears shocked. The accident made headlines nationwide.
When a Delta plane and Air Canada plane collided, passengers on both planes witnessed it. Muro was one of the passengers and recorded a brief account of her reaction.
In an email to BoardingArea, she confirmed her she was on the Delta flight that collided with the Air Canada aircraft.
Her camera first panned around the Delta cabin, before the view settled on another iPhone. On that screen was a still image of a stabilizer, but it looked wrong.
ABC Eyewitness News (KABC) reported “A piece of the Delta plane’s wing appeared to be lodged inside the stabilizer of the Air Canada aircraft. The curved portion of the wing, known as a winglet, was ripped off during the collision and remained stuck in the stabilizer.”
In an email to BoardingArea, a Delta spokesperson said: “While taxiing at Los Angeles International Airport, a Delta aircraft made contact with an Air Canada aircraft. Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people, and we apologize to our customers for the experience and delay in their travels.”
The spokesperson further said that Delta would cooperate with the National Transportation Safety Board on any investigation.
Both planes were taken out of service.
In an TikTok direct message to BoardingArea, Muro recalled, “The pilot kept us in the loop. During the 2 hours on the plane they maybe gave about 3 updates before letting us know we would have to get off.”
After the passengers debarked, she says that Delta worked to get everyone on another flight that same day. But the real shock came from the behavior of the other passengers: “I was so surprised there weren’t any Karens. Everyone was super nice and well behaved. No one was upset or caused a scene,” she says.
When asked if the airline did anything to ameliorate the situation, Muro said they paid for dinner: a $12 meal voucher. “While I understand mistakes and accidents happen some sort of flight credit/upgrade would have been nice,” she noted.
The good news is that tarmac collisions are very rare. The bad news? Near misses are up by about 25% since 2013 according to a 2023 PBS News transcript. That information is based on a New York Times review of Federal Aviation Administration safety reports.
“The incidents often occur at or near airports and are the result of human error. Mistakes by air traffic controllers — stretched thin by a nationwide staffing shortage—have been one major factor,” the Times reported.
Another factor: simply the the volume of air travel. In 2025 over 904 million people took to the skies.
The 2023 report also noted that “the vast majority of U.S. airports have not installed warning systems to help prevent collisions on runways.” The most acute factor the Times found was the chronically understaffed air traffic control facilities.
In 2025 the Times also reported “More than 90 percent of the country’s 313 air traffic control facilities operate below the Federal Aviation Administration’s recommended staffing levels.” It was an article that analyzed staffing data from the union representing controllers.
Despite this ongoing staffing shortage, the consensus is that the U.S. air travel system remains among the safest in the world. And though more air traffic controllers are being trained, it won’t happen overnight. The training can take up to four years.
Online reactions ranged from the person who realizes this is going to be the thing that calls them back into work, to the person who suggests a universal fix. While others, see a missed opportunity for the airlines.
“That’s a premium collision experience offered at no additional charge,” says Kyle_ (@kyle_hang)
Then Kayla (@kayla050791) chimes in, “Just duct tape it, I think you will be fine.”
But the last, and realest word might go to Talia Rose (@mommyrealest), “Yeah I wouldn’t be flying that day.”
@jess.muro On our way to Tokyo and this just happened #delta #airplane #fyp ♬ original sound – Jessica
