A Delta jet clipped a smaller plane on a taxiway at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Tuesday morning, tearing the tail off the smaller plane, officials said.
Delta Air Lines Flight 295, which was en route to Tokyo, was taxiing for takeoff when its wingtip hit the tail of Endeavor Air Flight 5526, which was headed to Louisiana, knocking the Endeavor plane’s tail off, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and Delta.
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Most airports have separate controllers for taxiway coordination and for runway and air coordination. Many larger airports separate tasks further, like having a separate approach controller. So, usually different people.
Same qualification though. You need to be a qualified ATC to clear a taxi, and air law states that the ground rolling stage as soon as the plane is moving under its own power is part of the flight. It goes as far as this is a flight accident and will be treated accordingly.