Two planes collide in D.C.: several well-known Israelis on board 

An unusual accident occurred last night (Thursday) at Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington. This was an incident in which two American Airlines planes collided on the ground. Miraculously, there were no casualties in the incident.

In one of the planes involved in the collision, two Israeli survivors, former hostages Keith and Aviva Siegel, were on a trip to the United States to promote the release of the hostages.

In voices broadcast from the pilots' communication network with the control tower at Reagan Airport, one of the pilots can be heard asking: "Did we hit the plane next to us? We estimate that we have been hit. We heard a loud explosion before we went up to the track."

The pilot also reported. "We can see a piece of the wing on the ground."

There were also three U.S. congressmen on board. One of them, Gregory Meeks, wrote on Network X: "This incident highlights the urgent need for additional funding for the Aviation Authority, people's lives are at stake. Cuts and dismissals of the Authority's employees are not the answer."

The airport said following the incident that "there was no impact on flight activity at the airport, as both planes returned to the gates and no injuries were reported."