Delta Plane Strikes Aircraft During Pushback From Atlanta Airport Gate

'Significant' turbulence on Delta flight injures 25

More than two dozen people were hospitalized after a Delta flight headed to Europe experienced significant turbulence.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after a Delta plane clipped a jet while attempting to take off from an Atlanta airport.

According to agency preliminary information, Delta Air Lines Flight 1830 was pushing back from the gate at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday, Aug. 10, when its right wingtip struck the left winglet of a parked Airbus A350 around 10:40 a.m. local time.

There were 192 passengers and six crew members on board the Guatemala-bound aircraft, according to Delta. There were no reported injuries. 

The incident caused a delay lasting around three hours and 30 minutes.

"We apologize to our customers for the experience and delay in their travels," The airline said to USA TODAY in an emailed statement.

The incident occurred in a part of the airport where air traffic controllers do not communicate with flight crews, the FAA said. Following the strike, the aircraft returned to the gate, and passengers deplaned and boarded another aircraft, FlightAware data shows.

This comes nearly two weeks after a Delta flight carrying 275 passengers and 13 crew members from Salt Lake City on route to Amsterdam was forced to divert to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport after suffering "significant turbulence" on July 30.

Some passengers were not wearing seatbelts as serving carts were making their way down the aisle, ABC News reported at the time. Passengers hit the ceiling and then fell to the ground, Leann Clement-Nash, one of the passengers on board, told the outlet.

"It happened several times, so it was really scary," said Clement-Nash.

Contributing: John Bacon and Zach Wichter

Michelle Del Rey is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at mdelrey@usatoday.com