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The near-miss occurred round 7am as Jetstar flight JQ402, an Airbus A320 making ready to fly to the Gold Coast, was taxiing on the airport’s taxiways.
The 2 plane got here into such shut proximity that each needed to cease abruptly.
Two passenger planes got here dangerously near colliding on the tarmac at Sydney Airport on Sunday morning, forcing a Jetstar plane to brake firmly as a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 was towed throughout its path. The near-miss occurred round 7am as Jetstar flight JQ402, an Airbus A320 making ready to fly to the Gold Coast, was taxiing on the airport’s taxiways. On the identical time, the Qatar Airways Boeing 777 was being moved by a tug on a crossing taxiway.
The 2 plane got here into such shut proximity that each needed to cease abruptly, based on Australia’s Transport Security Bureau (ATSB), which is investigating the incident. The precise distance between the 2 plane has not but been disclosed by investigators. Nonetheless, the ATSB described the plane as being in “shut proximity” and confirmed that each have been dropped at an abrupt cease, narrowly stopping what might have been a critical floor collision involving two massive passenger plane.
A cabin crew member aboard the Jetstar A320 was injured within the incident and required medical consideration. No passengers have been injured. The Qatar plane additionally suffered harm to the connection between its nostril touchdown gear and the tug that was towing it.
Jetstar mentioned its plane was following air site visitors management directions when its pilots have been pressured to brake “firmly” after the Qatar plane got here into shut proximity.
Preliminary inquiries indicated that the tug pulling the Qatar plane could not have adopted directions, though investigators haven’t but established what induced the near-miss.
The ATSB mentioned it might interview the flight crews, tug operators and air site visitors controllers, in addition to different witnesses. Investigators will even study CCTV footage as they decide how the 2 plane ended up on intersecting paths.
The incident comes as Sydney Airport faces rising considerations over air site visitors controller staffing. Greater than 150 flights have been delayed on the airport on Saturday, whereas Airservices Australia mentioned it had been managing diminished air site visitors actions.
The near-miss has now added a serious security concern to the disruption.
NSW Premier Chris Minns mentioned he was “clearly involved” in regards to the incident, warning {that a} scarcity of air site visitors controllers might have implications not just for delays but additionally for public security.
The Jetstar flight was ultimately cancelled and passengers have been rebooked on later providers.
August 09, 2026, 10:54 IST
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