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Plane spotter catches moment when wing of landing regional jet scrapes runway

Ben Mutzabaugh
USA TODAY
File photo of a US Airways Express CRJ 900.

The wing of an American Eagle regional jet scraped the runway as the flight landed at the McAllen International Airport in south Texas on Tuesday morning.

The moment of contact was captured by a "novice" plane spotter who was near the airport testing out a new camera, NBC DFW reports. He captured a shot showing the wing of the landing Bombardier CRJ regional making contact with the runway. The plane was operated by American Airlines affiliate Mesa Airlines and was flying as Flight 5786 under the American Eagle brand.

The plane, which still carried the logo of American merger partner US Airways, landed without further incident and then taxied to the gate. No one was hurt.

Mesa confirmed the incident to both NBC DFW and KSAV TV of Phoenix, saying that the aircraft has been taken out of service.

"Due to concerns about possible damage incurred on landing, the aircraft was removed from service for inspection. Passengers exited the aircraft normally and there were no reported injuries. Mesa Airlines is conducting an investigation."

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The plane spotter – Juan De La Garza, of Los Fresnos, Texas – told NBC DFW he was in the area of the airport and decided to test out his new camera. He said he noticed the plane dip toward the runway as it landed, and then saw the image of the wing touching the runway after he uploaded his photos.

"I went home half an hour later and started going through my pictures, and that's when I realized what I had taken a picture of," De La Garza added to KSAV. "Right now I'm still on a little bit of an adrenaline rush considering what I saw, what I witnessed could have been a lot worse. Thank God nobody was hurt."

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