PHOTOS: Plane tail clips wing at LGA

Photos of a clipped Southwest plane on the runway at La Guardia Airport shared via social media on Tuesday, December 23, 2014.

American Airlines Flight 1104 from Dallas was taxiing to its gate just before 11 a.m. as Southwest Airlines Flight 449 to Denver was departing.

The left winglet - a vertical fin at the tip of a wing designed to improve airflow and fuel efficiency - was ripped off the Southwest plane after it made contact with the American jet's left horizontal stabilizer, part of the tail. Both planes were Boeing 737s.

First 4 photos taken by Ari Isaacman Astles of The New York Times, who was on-board at the time.