Two Delta Air Lines flights were significantly delayed over the weekend after a Boeing 737-900ER came in contact with an Airbus A320 at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC). It is believed that the 737's left winglet clipped the A320's tail while it was awaiting takeoff. Both flights were scheduled to depart from SLC in the evening, but the incident delayed them overnight as Delta worked to deploy replacement aircraft.
The incident occurred on the evening of Saturday, July 27, 2024. Three Delta aircraft were waiting for departure from runway 16L at Salt Lake City Airport (SLC). The first aircraft, not involved with the collision, was an Airbus A220-100, operating DL1304 from SLC to Orange County (SNA). The Boeing 737-900ER, registered as N853DN, was operating as DL2046 en route to Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN), while the Airbus A320, registered as N361NW, was headed to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) as DL2677.
According to data from Flightradar24, DL2677 was scheduled to depart from gate A23 on Saturday around 21:10, but it was delayed about an hour and did not push back until 22:00. According to air traffic control (ATC) audio obtained by SLC Scanner, DL1304 was holding short at the runway as the wind conditions were unfavorable for takeoff. However, the pilots in command of DL2046 notified SLC tower that the winds did not seem to be an issue for them.
A controller responded, "that's fine," but double-checked with the pilots to confirm that they had access to the runway. As they proceeded to the runway, N853DN's left winglet came in contact with the back of N361NW, which prompted the pilots of DL2677 to signal ATC. Both N853DN and N361NW had to return to the terminal, and the passengers disembarked. Delta teams worked to accommodate customers to their final destinations after the wingtip of Delta flight DL2046 made contact with a parked aircraft at SLC. In total, 240 passengers were affected by the collision. The extent of the damage to the aircraft has not been officially released.