Heathrow was plunged into crisis after two passenger planes crashed on the runway.

       Witnesses say a Virgin Atlantic plane - which was being pushed back by a tug - collided with the tail of a nearby British Airways aircraft.

       Pictures circulating online show emergency services scrambling to the scene of the prang on the Heathrow taxiway at Terminal 3 of the west London airport.

       No one was on board the Virgin Atlantic plane, understood to be a Boeing787-9, at the time of impact, the airline said.

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       A spokesman for Virgin Atlantic told Mirror Online: "The wingtip of one of our empty aircraft came into contact with another aircraft whilst being towed from the stand at London Heathrow Terminal 3.

       "The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority. We can confirm no customers were on board the Virgin Atlantic aircraft during this time."

       The spokesman added: "We’ve commenced a full and thorough investigation. Our engineering teams are performing maintenance checks on the aircraft, which for now has been taken out of service."

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       The accident has not caused any disruptions to Virgin's schedule of operations to and from the hub, the country's busiest airport, today as the Easter holidays come to an end.

       Twitter user Alex Whittles said: "Just witnessed a plane crash at Heathrow. A tug pushing back a Virgin 787, crashed the wing into a BA A350."

       A spokesperson from British Airways told Express.co.uk: "One of our aircraft, whilst stationary at Heathrow earlier today, was involved in a collision with another airline's jet, which was being towed from a stand at the time.

       "Our aircraft is being assessed by our engineering teams and we have provided an alternative aircraft to limit the impact on our customers."

       Expresss.co.uk has reached out to Heathrow for a comment.

       A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “We are aware that the wingtip of one of our empty aircraft came into contact with another aircraft whilst being towed from the stand at London Heathrow Terminal 3. The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority. We can confirm no customers were on board the Virgin Atlantic aircraft during this time. We’ve commenced a full and thorough investigation and our engineering teams are performing maintenance checks on the aircraft, which for now has been taken out of service.”