Delta pilot didn't recall instructions before NYC airport ground collision, NTSB report says

NEW YORK (AP) — The captain of one of the Delta Air Lines regional jets that collided at the intersection of two taxiways at LaGuardia Airport in New York last month told investigators he did not recall hearing instructions to give way to the other plane, according to a preliminary report Thursday from the National Transportation Safety Board.

An aircraft carrying 32 people was preparing for takeoff to Roanoke, Virginia, on the night of Oct. 1 when its wing smashed into the front of an aircraft taxiing after arriving from Charlotte, North Carolina, with 61 people aboard. The low-speed collision injured a flight attendant, gouged the nose of one plane and shattered its cockpit window and damaged the wing of the other aircraft.

The investigation is continuing and the NTSB report does not cite a cause for the collision between flights 5155 and 5047.

The preliminary report notes that the ground controller instructed the outbound flight 5155 to “give way” to another plane on the ground. The flight crew read back the instructions, but the pilot told investigators he didn't the recall hearing the instruction to yield. He said he was focused on calculating performance numbers for the landing, according to the report.

The plane started to taxi.

“The captain recalled he was looking down into the cockpit to visually verify the airplane trim setting as part of the checklist, and when he looked up he saw flight 5047 to the right,” according to the report.

The captain of flight 5155 said he tried to veer left to avoid the other aircraft, and the captain of flight 5047 said he applied brakes immediately before the collision.

Delta declined to comment on the preliminary report other than to say they're fully cooperating with the investigation.

This undated photo provided by a National Transportation Safety Board report Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, shows damage on the right wing of Flight 5155 sustained during a collision with another aircraft at LaGuardia Airport in New York, Oct. 1, 2025. (National Transportation Safety Board via AP)

This undated photo provided by a National Transportation Safety Board report Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, shows damage on the nose of Flight 5047 sustained during a collision with another aircraft at LaGuardia Airport in New York, Oct. 1, 2025. (National Transportation Safety Board via AP)

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A powerful, magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck in a remote area near the border between Alaska and the Canadian territory of Yukon on Saturday. There was no tsunami warning, and officials said there were no immediate reports of damage or injury.

The U.S. Geological Survey said it struck about 230 miles (370 kilometers) northwest of Juneau, Alaska, and 155 miles (250 kilometers) west of Whitehorse, Yukon.

In Whitehorse, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Calista MacLeod said the detachment received two 911 calls about the earthquake.

“It definitely was felt,” MacLeod said. “There are a lot of people on social media, people felt it.”

Alison Bird, a seismologist with Natural Resources Canada, said the part of Yukon most affected by the temblor is mountainous and has few people.

“Mostly people have reported things falling off shelves and walls,” Bird said. “It doesn’t seem like we’ve seen anything in terms of structural damage.”

The Canadian community nearest to the epicenter is Haines Junction, Bird said, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) away. The Yukon Bureau of Statistics lists its population count for 2022 as 1,018.

The quake was also about 56 miles (91 kilometers) from Yakutat, Alaska, which the USGS said has 662 residents.

It struck at a depth of about 6 miles (10 kilometers) and was followed by multiple smaller aftershocks.

Hubbard Glacier, located near Yakutat, Alaska, is seen on Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)