A plane struck an aircraft tug vehicle at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Saturday, sending the 64-year-old driver to the hospital with multiple injuries.

After flying in from Kalamazoo, Mich., Saturday evening, Air Wisconsin Flight 6181 landed in Chicago and was on its way to the gate when it collided with a tug on the taxiway.

According to the Chicago Police Department, the driver of the tug — a small vehicle designed to tow aircraft — was trying to cross the taxiway when the tug and the Bombardier CRJ-200 jet crashed, flipping the tug and pinning the driver underneath.

The tug driver sustained head and lower body injuries and was transported to Lutheran General Hospital in critical condition but was later stabilized, police said.

No passengers or crew members aboard the flight were injured, according to a statement from American Airlines. Air Wisconsin operates flights for the regional American Eagle network, which is part of American Airlines.

“Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and team members, and we are reviewing this incident,” American Airlines said in a statement.

The company added that the tug was operated by another carrier.

Passengers deplaned and were transported to the terminal by bus.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating the incident.

The incident came one day after a medical transport jet crashed in Northeast Philadelphia, leaving at least seven people dead, and less than a week since the deadly middair collision of an American Airlines plane and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., which killed all 67 people on board both aircraft in the deadliest U.S. aviation disaster in two decades.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/02/02/a-plane-and-a-tug-vehicle-collide-at-chicagos-ohare-airport-injuring-the-driver/