CHARLOTTE, N.C. - An American Airlines plane arriving at Charlotte-Douglas Airport collided with a 'tug' vehicle outside of Terminal E, hospitalizing one person Wednesday afternoon.
An American Airlines flight 5233 coming from Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia landed around 3:40 p.m., when it began taxiing to gate E-35. Shortly after, it ran into an airplane tug vehicle not working with the plane.
BREAKING: American Airlines plane collides with tug truck at Charlotte Douglass Airport, at least 1 transported to the hospital @wcnc
— Savannah Levins (@LevinsReports) September 13, 2017
31 Passengers and 3 crew were on board the plane at the time of the incident, but none were reported injured.
The driver of the vehicle was taken to a local hospital and is in stable condition.
Witnesses to the crash say they saw a woman operating the vehicle when it quickly turned and hit the plane abruptly.
First responders on scene at @CLTAirport where a plane collided with a tug. Driver taken to the hospital @WCNC. @LevinsReports w/ latest @ 6 pic.twitter.com/i9ucRY44FE
— Evan West (@TV_Evan) September 13, 2017
CLT's Terminal E houses roughly half of the regional flight gates. The crash is expected to impact dozens of regional flights tonight and possibly into tomorrow.
Sources tell NBC Charlotte that the north part of Terminal E will be closed until the FAA and NTSP complete their investigation into the crash.
A statement released by the Federal Aviation Administration reads:
PSA Airlines 5223, CL600-2B aircraft, and a tug collided on the north ramp at Charlotte Douglas International Airport at 4:35 pm today. The collision occurred while the aircraft was taxiing to the gate after landing. The aircraft and tug are blocking several gates.
Passengers at Charlotte-Douglas have reported being directed off of planes that were getting ready to take off in the terminal.
Sorry, again, best I can get you right now. pic.twitter.com/CDmIJQbrIt
— Chris Strub (@ChrisStrub) September 13, 2017
Stick with WCNC.com for the latest updates on this developing story.