RDU Airport resumes flights after truck, corporate jet collide
Raleigh-Durham International Airport was briefly shut down Wednesday afternoon after a box truck collided with a plane, according to airport officials.
The truck collided with a general aviation aircraft, with two people on board the plane at the time of the crash. There were no injuries to the two passengers or the driver of the truck, officials said.
“The airfield is now open for arriving and departing flights,” Stephanie Hawco, the airport’s external communications director, told The News & Observer just before 3 p.m.
Aircraft scheduled for takeoff sat on the tarmac as RDU’s operations remained paused for about an hour. Two flights that were scheduled to arrive at RDU were diverted to Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Hawco said.
According to a spokesperson for Charlotte Douglas International Airport, six aircraft were diverted from Raleigh to Charlotte during the pause but were scheduled to return to RDU.
“Once these aircraft are refueled, they will return to RDU,” said Chris Poore, the media relations manager for CLT Airport. “We do not have an estimated timeline for their departure.”
Handfuls of other flights were also diverted, like a Copa Airlines flight that was scheduled to land in Raleigh but was instead diverted to Washington Dulles International, according to Flightaware.com.
It’s unclear whether those aircraft will be returning to Raleigh.
This story was originally published July 1, 2026 at 2:54 PM.
