Probe after planes collide on runway

British Airways was continuing its investigation today into a runway collision involving one of its jumbo jets and another packed passenger plane.

Members of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) were also looking into the incident at Heathrow Airport between a BA Boeing 747 and a SriLankan Airlines Airbus A340.

Passengers described how the Airbus hit the BA plane from behind, “chopping off a bit of wing”, in the incident at around 10.10pm yesterday. No-one was hurt.

It is thought the Boeing plane, flight BA011, which was bound for Singapore with 328 passengers on board, was stationary.

The Airbus was heading for Colombo in Sri Lanka and was carrying 286 passengers and crew.

A BA spokesman said today: “Our engineers are inspecting the plane and we are continuing to look into the incident.”

A spokeswoman for SriLankan Airlines said it was “a minor incident involving a British Airways aircraft when taxiing to the runway at Heathrow”.

She went on: “It is reported that the wing tips of the two aircraft brushed against each other while taxiing.”

It was hoped that all the passengers involved would be flown out of Heathrow on other flights today.

Danish journalist Annasofie Flamand, 32, who was on the SriLankan flight, said: “We turned our wing, almost hit what looked like the tail end of the British Airways flight, and we ended up chopping off a bit of wing.

“It’s pretty incredible to see something like that in a place like Heathrow Airport. Thank God it was on the ground and not in the air.”