SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Federal officials are investigating a collision between two planes on the tarmac at San Francisco International Airport.

Investigators believe a lapse in communication led to the minor scrape.

On Tuesday, a United Airlines jet was being pushed back from a gate at the international terminal when it clipped the wingtip of a passing All Nippon Airways jet.

Both planes suffered minor damage. No injuries were reported. Passengers were placed on alternative flights.

SFO spokesman Mike McCarron says it's a very unusual occurrence. He compared it to a highway fender-bender.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are looking into the incident.

(Copyright 2003 by the Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Cheers all... ...!
Paul.
(England).

Quote:
and the fact that, most airplanes don't have fenders!

I was in MIA a couple of months ago, and some poor bastard forgot to chock and set the brake on a GPU. It was connected to, and rolled into, one of the props on a running engine of an ATR-42! 

Ok, here is what I would consider the ultimate "Fender Bender", and that is how it was put in the news when it happened. The headline, if I remember correctly, read "Fender Bender at 35,000 feet"
Minot AFB, ND. A Boeing B-52H and a Boeing KC-135A, both assigned to the Air Base were involved in a "minor" fender bender today. During a refueling operation, the B-52 "rear-ended" the tanker. The 25 year old bomber suffered a large gapping hole in the nose, and the tanker had damage to the tail section that controls the up and down path of the plane. The B-52 landed with no problems, and the KC-135 landed safely with some diffeculty.

This was back in the late 80's. Not long after that a B-52  and a duck collided. The duck missed the co-pilots leg by 6 inches.

Amazing what you learn while in the AF!

Chris