American Eagle Jet Collides With Shuttle Bus in Chicago

At least two people have been injured after an American Eagle flight collided with a shuttle bus at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. When the incident occurred, the American Eagle flight, operated by Air Wisconsin, was taxiing for departure to Dayton, Ohio.

[ORD,DAY]

Background

American Eagle Flight 6209 is a regularly scheduled flight between Chicago O'Hare, IL (ORD) and Dayton, OH (DAY). On Friday, October 6th, the flight was taxiing for departure when it collided with an employee shuttle bus.

Passengers onboard AA6209 reported the aircraft was "shifting left to right" and felt a "jarring impact on the plane." No one onboard the aircraft received any injuries.

The collision took place around 7 p.m. and left the aircraft's nose cone ripped off. The shuttle bus was also significantly damaged by the impact. Soon after the incident, O'Hare's on-site firefighter and EMT team were on the scene within minutes. Two passengers from the bus required additional medical attention and were taken to Resurrection Hospital with minor injuries.

All passengers were evacuated from the American Eagle flight as a precautionary measure. Extra shuttle buses arrived by the aircraft to take the passengers back to the terminal.

A statement issued by American Airlines regarding the incident stated the following:

"An employee bus made contact with American Eagle flight 6209 operated by Air Wisconsin Airlines while the aircraft was taxiing at Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD). Six team members onboard the bus are receiving further evaluation at a local hospital and there were no reported injuries onboard the aircraft. The aircraft has been taken out of service and customers have boarded a replacement aircraft to continue on to Dayton, OH (DAY) tonight."

Aftermath

The original aircraft operating AA6209, a CRJ-200 registered N457AW, was taken out of service. Air Wisconsin, the regional subsidiary operating the American Eagle flight, dispatched aircraft N467AW to operate the now-delayed flight to Dayton.

AA6209 departed Chicago shy of 9:40 p.m. that night and arrived in Dayton around 11:25 p.m., running two hours and 15 minutes late. Air Wisconsin Airlines recently began operating American Eagle flights just a few months earlier. The carrier previously operated flights for American Eagle until the pandemic hit.

However, a few months ago, the subsidiary signed a new contract with American Eagle and began operating flights for them again. This new contract brought the dreaded CRJ-200 regional jet back to the American Eagle fleet.

As for how the incident took place, further investigation is ongoing. No explanation has been given regarding how the aircraft and bus managed to collide.