A Virgin Atlantic flight to London was aborted before take-off when the aircraft’s wing became lodged in a fence at JFK Airport as the plane was being pulled back by a tug, officials said.
No injuries were reported after the Airbus struck a blast fence at 8:30 a.m. when it was towed from Gate 3 at Terminal 4 on its way to the runway, said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The airline attributed the mishap on a “miscalculation by the tug.”
Among the 276 passengers aboard was supermodel Bella Hadid, who tweeted: “My plane just hit a wall.”
Tempers flared as exasperated passengers sought information at the terminal, where two agents fielded questions and helped rebook flights.
Carson Ross, 29, a clothing designer from Manhattan, was en route to Singapore on business.
“The plane was backing out … about 50 feet I felt a jolt and the engine cut off right away,” he said.
The flight crew announced they would move the plane back to the gate, where the passengers would be let off while the damage was assessed.
“We sat for an hour and the story kept flip-flopping,” Ross said. “Finally they said they are bringing stairs and we are to get off because they don’t want to move the plane.”
Another passenger said he was traveling with six children and four other adults.
“It’s horrible,” said Steve, who declined to give his last name. “We have six children here. We are sitting on the floor like refugees.”
Eating hot dogs and burgers on the floor, the group waited as Virgin worked to get them on a flight to Atlanta and then Africa.
“We are waiting here for too long — standing (in line), it’s slow. It’s frustrating,” he said, pointing at the line of passengers, some in wheelchairs.
The airline gave passengers a letter of apology, which said hotel accommodations, meals and phone cards would be provided.
Grounded passengers also aired their gripes on Twitter.
One passenger, going by the handle @hschleckr, tweeted a photo of the flight’s Union Jack-decorated right wingtip smashed against the fence.
Flight 26 was scheduled to depart for London at 8:15 a.m. before the mishap, which aviation expert Phil Derner called “the most minor of incidents in aviation.”
“It’s like bumping the curb with your tire when you’re parallel parking,” Derner told The Post.
The founder of the NYC Aviation Web site said the area where the incident occurred is very tight and that personnel walk alongside aircraft as they are being towed to inform the tug drivers if any obstacles are in the way.
