Delta pilot didnt recall instructions before NYC airport ground collision, NTSB report says

NEW YORK (AP) — The captain of one of Delta Air Lines regional jets collided at the intersection A suspect from two taxiways at New York’s LaGuardia Airport last month told investigators he did not remember hearing the instruction to yield to the other plane, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday.

While the plane carrying 32 people was preparing to take off to Roanoke, Virginia, on the night of October 1, its wing contacted the fuselage of the plane coming from Charlotte, North Carolina, with 61 people on board. The low-speed crash injured a flight attendant and damaged the nose of one plane and the wing of the other.

The investigation is ongoing and the NTSB report does not specify the cause of the collision between flights 5155 and 5047.

The preliminary report states that the ground controller instructed outbound Flight 5155 to “give way” to another aircraft on the ground. The flight crew read the instructions again, but the pilot told investigators he did not remember hearing the instruction to surrender. He said he was focused on calculating performance figures for the landing, according to the report.

The plane began to taxi.

“The captain recalled looking into the cockpit to visually verify the aircraft trim setting as part of the checklist, and when he looked up he saw flight 5047 to the right,” according to the report.

The captain of flight 5155 said he tried to veer left to avoid other planes, while the captain of flight 5047 said he applied the brakes just before the collision.

Delta declined to comment on the preliminary report other than to say they are fully cooperating with the investigation.