Five people were injured in a slow-speed crash involving an American Airlines jet and an airport shuttle at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Friday night.
The incident, which occurred on the taxiway on the south side of the airport, involved an out-of-service jet that was being towed.
“At about 10 p.m. on Friday, a shuttle bus traveling on the south side of the LAX airfield made contact with an American Airlines A321 aircraft that was being towed from a gate to a remote parking location,” Heath Montgomery, a spokesperson for LAX, told The Dallas Express via email.
“Members of the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the taxiway and treated 5 people. The people reporting injuries included the driver of the tug, the one person who was onboard the aircraft as it was being towed, the bus driver, and two passengers on the bus,” he added.
Montgomery told The Dallas Express that four of the five injured individuals were transported to nearby hospitals for treatment.
The operator of the tug had moderate injuries, and the driver of the shuttle and two passengers on board were reported to be in fair condition, according to ABC7. The service worker on the plane suffered minor injuries and declined to be transported to the hospital.
Video taken at the scene showed the shuttle bus sustained extensive damage to its windshield.
The airport did not face any major disruptions in operations, and flights continued as normal, airport officials said.
The incident is under investigation.
LAX Airport tweeted a message about 1 a.m. the following morning advising of the incident and expressing appreciation for the first responders.
“A jet being towed tonight from a gate to a parking area made contact with a shuttle bus, resulting in injuries to about 5 people. We thank our partners @LAFD for quickly responding and treating passengers from the bus. Other LAX operations remain normal,” the tweet read.
