A Qatar Airways Boeing 777 was involved in a near-miss with a Jetstar aircraft at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport on Sunday, prompting authorities to launch an investigation.
The Jetstar A320, operating flight JQ402 to Australia's Gold Coast, had to brake abruptly after coming into proximity with the Qatar Airways aircraft while taxiing to the runway. Both aircraft came to a stop and paramedics were called in to assess a Jetstar cabin crew member, however no passengers were injured. Qatar Airways did not respond to The National's request for a comment.
A ground controller and tug operator were stood down from their duties and would undergo mandatory drug and alcohol testing in line with standard policy, Australian media quoted the Transport Minister Catherine King as saying.
“As the ATSB [Australian Transport Safety Bureau] will be investigating, it would not be appropriate to provide further commentary at this time,” the minister said.
Australian low-cost carrier Jetstar said its aircraft had been following air traffic control instructions when pilots were forced to brake firmly after another aircraft came into proximity. The airline has launched its own investigation.
The ATSB said the incident caused damage to the connection between the Boeing 777’s nose gear and its tug. Investigators will examine data from both aircraft and air traffic control, CCTV footage and interview flight crew, tug operators, controllers and other witnesses.
ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said it was too early to determine where any communication breakdown occurred.
Second incident
The incident is the second near-miss at Sydney, the busiest aviation hub in the country, in two weeks.
In the earlier incident on July 27, air traffic control cleared a Qantas Boeing 737 to cross a runway while a QantasLink Dash-8 arriving from Canberra was still completing its landing roll. Controllers detected the conflict and the 737 stopped short of the runway.
The ATSB identified a “breakdown of co-ordination” and is investigating. The incidents come amid continuing staffing pressures at Sydney's international airport.
More than 150 flights were delayed on Saturday, including about 95 across the Qantas network and some Virgin Australia services, after Airservices Australia said it was unable to provide enough staff in the air traffic control tower.
Some flights on Friday were also held on the tarmac for more than an hour because of separate air traffic flow management restrictions.
