Delta flight clips another plane on taxiway at Atlanta airport, knocks off smaller plane’s tail
Clara McMichael, Sam Sweeney, and Emily Shapiro, ABC News
(ATLANTA) — A Delta jet clipped a smaller plane on a taxiway at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Tuesday morning, tearing the tail off the smaller plane, officials said.
Delta Air Lines Flight 295, which was en route to Tokyo, was taxiing for takeoff when its wingtip hit the tail of Endeavor Air Flight 5526, which was headed to Louisiana, knocking the Endeavor plane’s tail off, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and Delta.
The incident unfolded at the intersection of two taxiways around 10:10 a.m., the FAA said.
No one was injured on either plane, according to Delta and the airport.
“There is minimal impact to airport operations,” an airport spokesperson said in a statement.
“Passengers from one of the aircraft are being bussed from the incident to the concourses,” the spokesperson said. “The second aircraft taxied under its own power to a concourse where passengers will deplane at their gate.”
(NEW YORK) — A search is underway in New York City for two suspects, including one dressed all in pink, who allegedly crashed an empty subway train after brazenly walking into a station and stealing it, authorities said.
The theft of the train in the nation’s largest subway system unfolded amid the deployment of additional police officers to the subway system to combat a surge in crime. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul even deployed National Guard troops as part of a five-point plan to protect subway riders.
According to a New York Police Department incident report, the thieves, a man and a woman, stole the empty train just after midnight on Thursday at the Briarwood subway station in the borough of Queens, according to police.
“These two individuals entered an unoccupied train and operated it, causing a collision and damage to the train,” according to the NYPD incident report.
No injuries were reported and the suspects fled the area on foot, according to police.
No arrests have been announced as of Wednesday morning, police said.
The duo was caught on surveillance cameras walking through the empty train at Briarwood station before taking it on a short joy ride, police said.
One of the alleged thieves was described as a woman with a medium build and medium complexion, according to police.
“She was last seen wearing a pink shower cap, a pink sleeveless shirt, pink shorts, and carrying a pink handbag,” according to the incident report.
Her accomplice was described by police as a man with a slim build and light complexion, He was dressed in a blue tank top, red shorts and carrying a black backpack.
It was at least the second theft of a New York City subway train in less than eight months.
On Dec. 30, 2023, a group stole empty trains parked in a restricted area near the Forest Hills-71st Avenue subway station in Queens. Authorities said the group entered the operators’ compartments of two lead train cars before driving them northbound.
Amidst a 45% year-over-year spike in New York City transit crime in January, mostly due to grand larcenies, Hochul deployed 1,000 state workers, including 250 state police troopers and Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police members, to assist the NYPD in enhanced baggage checks at heavily trafficked areas of the subway system.
Hochul also directed the New York National Guard to make 750 members, who are currently part of the Joint Task Force Empire Shield, available to help check subway riders’ bags for weapons.
According to the most recent NYPD crime statistics, transit crime as of Sunday is now down 5.4% from this time in 2023.
Marilyn Heck, Kevin Shalvey, and Kenton Gewecke, ABC News
(KETCHIKAN, Alaska.) — A 42-year-old husband and father has been identified as the man killed in a landslide in Ketchikan, Alaska, on Sunday, officials said.
Sean Griffin, a Ketchikan native and member of the city’s public works team for 17 years, was killed when he responded to help during his scheduled time off, according to the Ketchikan Gateway Borough.
“Sean and another team member were clearing stormwater drains when they were caught in the landslide,” Ketchikan officials said in a statement.
“Sean was a beloved husband, father, son, neighbor, and coworker,” Ketchikan officials said. “He spent his life serving his family and his community. … He started as a solid waste collector, moved up to solid waste facility operator, then to streets maintenance technician, and finally promoted to senior maintenance technician. “
“Sean is remembered for his dedication, positive spirit, and unwavering devotion to his family, his friends, and to the community,” the statement said.
Mandatory evacuations were put in place after the landslide swept through streets on Sunday afternoon, according to Kacie Paxton, a public information officer for the Ketchikan Gateway Borough.
Three people were injured and hospitalized following the landslide, according to Paxton. One of those people was later released, she said.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued an Alaska Disaster Emergency Declaration. A separate Joint Disaster Emergency Declaration was issued by borough Mayor Rodney Dial and city of Ketchikan Mayor Dave Kiffer.
“In my 65 years in Ketchikan, I have never seen a slide of this magnitude,” Kiffer said in a statement. “With the slides we have seen across the region, there is clearly a region-wide issue that we need to try to understand with the support of our state geologist.”
“The loss of life that we have encountered is heartbreaking, and my heart goes out to those who lost their homes,” he added.
Photos released by the borough appeared to show a pile of trees and loose soil up against several hillside homes, at least one of which appeared to have been pushed into another home. Other photos appeared to show roads covered with debris, including trees.
“Our prayers are with the families, the injured, those recovering, and the community,” Sen. Dan Sullivan said on social media, later adding, “My team and I stand ready to help facilitate any federal assistance that may be necessary.”
This landslide comes as Ketchikan saw about 3 inches of rain this month — about half its average rainfall for August.
Ketchikan received over 2.5 inches of rainfall over this weekend, and higher elevations in the Ketchikan Range reported 5 to 9 inches of rain. Too much rain at once after a drier period can cause a landslide.
The rain continued on Monday but is forecast to dry off through Tuesday. More rain is expected Wednesday and Thursday as a new frontal system moves in.
Landslides are common in southeast Alaska. Six people were killed, including an 11-year-old girl, in a major landslide in Wrangell, about 100 miles north of Ketchikan, last November.
ABC News’ Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.
(PHOENIX) — The judge overseeing the Arizona “fake elector” case that charged several Trump allies with alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state has set a trial date of Jan. 5, 2026.
At a hearing in Phoenix on Monday, Arizona Superior Court Judge Bruce Cohen heard several motions from the defendants’ attorneys including some motions to dismiss the case.
Many of the defendants, including Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, appeared virtually.
An attorney for former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani argued in court that the allegations against Giuliani are not crimes and instead amount to free speech.
“The way I see it, is that in every instance where they’ve alleged Mr. Giuliani has done something in this indictment, it’s all conduct related to his constitutional right, freedom of speech, to petition the government,” the attorney said.
An attorney for Jim Lamon, one of the so-called fake electors, argued at length that the charges in the indictment against his client are “insufficient” and that his client was told to be a “duly qualified elector” by state party chair Kelli Ward.
Ward, Lamon’s attorney said, told Lamon that the documents he signed purporting that Trump won Arizona “was vetted out by lawyers all throughout the administration.”
“That’s what he was told,” Lamon’s attorney argued.
“I think we can agree [Lamon] was not part of the Trump campaign,” Lamon’s attorney added. “There’s no evidence he talked to Trump or the campaign at all.”
Krista Wood, an attorney with the Arizona attorney general’s office, asked for a protective order over the grand jury proceedings, citing “several leaks” in other similar cases, including the Fulton County election interference case case in Georgia.
“Given the number of defendants and defense counsel, there’s a larger probability of that type of information being leaked,” Wood said of the grand jurors’ names.
All those indicted in the case pleaded not guilty earlier this summer to charges of fraud, forgery, and conspiracy for their alleged efforts to overturn the state’s election results. Trump’s former attorney Jenna Ellis subsequently reached a cooperation agreement with prosecutors in exchange for the state dropping the charges against her.
