Flights delayed and canceled at Houston’s Hobby Airport after 2 private jets clip wings on airfield

HOUSTON (AP) — Flights were delayed and canceled Tuesday evening at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport as crews cleaned up after two private jets clipped wings when they were moving on the airfield, officials said.

No injuries were reported and the city fire department said there was no risk of fire after the collision around 3:30 p.m. at the airport southeast of downtown.

The Federal Aviation Administration said on X that a twin-engine Hawker H25B turned off a runway without permission and collided with a twin-engine Cessna C510 that had landed on another runway. The FAA didn’t say how many people were on board each plane.

“Due to the debris caused by the accident, the airfield is shut down until further notice,” Hobby Airport said on X. Officials urged travelers to check with their airlines for more information.

In an update just after 5 p.m., the airport said it diverted 11 flights and canceled four, ABC 13 reported. There was no word on when traffic would return to normal.

There’s been a string of recent close calls at airports around the nation and the Biden administration said in September it will invest $26 million to address the problem. The money will go toward new safety measures, including automation to alert air traffic controllers about planes that are heading for the wrong runway.

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This story has been corrected to show that the jets clipped wings on Tuesday, not Wednesday.