A Virgin Atlantic plane crashed into a British Airways jet at Heathrow Airport, sparking a huge emergency service response on Saturday.
The empty Virgin 787 plane was being towed at Terminal 3 when it clipped the wing of the BA Airbus A350 passenger plane, witnesses have said.
It has been reported that the plane was full of passengers and was bound for Accra but British Airways is yet to confirm.
At least five fire engines rushed to the scene while the Air Accident Investigation Branch has taken note.
A Virgin spokesman said: “The wingtip of one of our empty aircraft came into contact with another aircraft while being towed from the stand at London Heathrow Terminal 3.
“The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority.
“We can confirm no customers were on board the Virgin Atlantic aircraft during this time.
“We’ve commenced a full and thorough investigation.
“Our engineering teams are performing maintenance checks on the aircraft, which for now has been taken out of service.”
Alex Whittles, the passenger of another plane, witnessed the incident.
He tweeted: “Just witnessed a plane crash at Heathrow! A tug pushing back a Virgin 787, crashed the wing into a BA A350.”
“He drove the plane right over the hash markings on the ground,” he added.
The British Airways plane had recently arrived from Ghana capital Accra. It was due to depart on the return journey at 12.40pm from Gate 25 at Terminal 3.
The departure for the Accra journey has been pushed back to 6.30pm but the airport, according to live flight boards, does not appear to have many other alterations on Saturday afternoon.
The Standard has contacted BA and Heathrow Airport for a response.
