A Jetstar passenger aircraft and a Qatar Airways plane narrowly avoided a collision at Sydney Airport on Sunday morning, prompting an investigation by Australian aviation safety authorities.
The incident occurred at around 7.00 a.m. when a Jetstar Airbus A320 was taxiing for a scheduled flight to the Gold Coast and encountered a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 being towed across a taxiway.
According to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), both aircraft were brought to an abrupt stop.
A Jetstar cabin crew member was injured during the incident, while no passengers were reported injured. Damage was also reported to the connection between the Qatar Airways aircraft’s nose gear and the towing tug.
Jetstar said its aircraft had been following air traffic control instructions when its pilots were forced to brake suddenly after the Qatar Airways aircraft came into close proximity.
The Jetstar flight was subsequently cancelled, with passengers transferred to later services.
The ATSB has launched an investigation and is expected to interview flight crews, tug operators, air traffic controllers and other witnesses, while also examining CCTV footage.
The incident comes amid recent air traffic control staffing shortages that have caused significant delays at Sydney Airport. It also follows another near-miss involving two Qantas aircraft at the airport on July 27.
