Two Southwest Airlines flights clipped each other while leaving the gates at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport earlier this week, leaving both aircraft with minor damage to their wingtips and forcing passengers to change planes. Southwest said the planes were immediately removed from service after the collision, and no passengers were injured.
The flights involved were 1048 to Connecticut and 562 to Houston, which backed into each other during pushback. On the radio, the pilot of flight 1048 told air traffic controllers, "Hey, ground, Southwest 1048, we had contact between the 2 aircraft back here," and then said, "We're going to need to taxi straight ahead back to Alpha 7."
The FAA said the part of the airport where the clip happened is one where air traffic controllers typically do not have communication with the crew. That matters because the incident happened while the aircraft were moving away from the gate, in a space where pilots have to rely on tight coordination and their own awareness rather than direct controller guidance.
Southwest said safety is its top priority for passengers and employees and that an internal review is underway. The airline has not said what caused the two aircraft to back into each other, but the damage was enough to take both planes out of service and disrupt travel for the people on board. CBS News Baltimore reported the incident May 7, 2026, and said navigating the gates at BWI requires geometry, patience and awareness. For now, the key question is not whether the damage was severe — it was not — but how two aircraft were allowed to make contact during a routine departure process at one of the airport's busiest choke points.