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On social media, passengers said the collision had damaged the plane’s wing.HARRISON MOONEY Updated: January 3, 2019
A WestJet flight was delayed Thursday at Vancouver airport after a collision between the aircraft and a catering vehicle.
According to the airline’s spokeswoman Morgan Bell, WestJet flight 1722 from Vancouver to Palm Springs “made contact” with the vehicle while backing up from its gate, damaging the aircraft and forcing it out of service.
Rather than taking to the air, bound for the sunny skies of SoCal, the Boeing 737-800 returned immediately to the gate.
On social media, passengers said the collision had damaged the plane’s wing.
“We just broke our wing backing up,” wrote passenger Chris Beyma, sharing a photo from her seat.”Flight cancelled on this full plane. True story.”M
“All guests and crew were safely offloaded upon the aircraft’s return to gate and were re-accommodated onto a new aircraft,” said Bell.
“We sincerely apologize for the delay and any inconvenience this may have caused our guests.”
There were no reported injuries in the collision, and no damage to the airport, said YVR spokesman Christopher Richards.
After a three-and-a-half-hour delay, the new aircraft took off for Palm Springs, and landed just before 4 p.m.