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🇦🇺 Australia /Crime & Justice

Airport workers stood down after Sydney plane near-miss; investigation launched

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Two airport workers were stood down after a near-miss incident involving a Jetstar and Qatar Airways plane at Sydney Airport.
  • The incident occurred while Jetstar flight JQ402 was taxiing and had to brake suddenly to avoid the towed Qatar Airways plane.
  • An investigation is underway, with federal Transport Minister Catherine King vowing to address any systemic issues identified.

An investigation has been launched into a near-miss incident at Sydney Airport involving two passenger planes, leading to emergency meetings and two airport workers being stood down. The incident occurred on Sunday, injuring a Jetstar crew member.

They caused significant challenges to passengers, staff and airlines

— Catherine KingOn the impact of recent flight disruptions at Sydney Airport.

Jetstar flight JQ402 was preparing for takeoff when its pilots slammed on the brakes. They had noticed a Qatar Airways plane being towed by an aircraft tug dangerously close to their aircraft. Both planes stopped abruptly, narrowly avoiding a collision.

My office has asked for an explanation, and for Airservices to outline a pathway to improve the delivery of its services.

— Catherine KingRegarding Airservices Australia's performance.

Federal Transport Minister Catherine King described the event as "extremely concerning" and pledged to address any "systemic issues" uncovered by the aviation safety watchdog's investigation. She also stated that Airservices Australia needs to improve its management of airport disruptions, which have been exacerbated by a shortage of air traffic controllers.

Now exactly why they came so close is I guess really what we're trying to understand at the moment so we're gathering the evidence we need to make that determination.

— Angus MitchellAustralian Transport Safety Bureau's Chief Commissioner, on the ongoing investigation into the near-miss.

Thousands of passengers have faced lengthy flight delays and missed connections due to ongoing disruptions. Airservices Australia confirmed that Air Traffic Flow Management measures, including departure spacing, were implemented after the incident to manage air traffic demands. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau's Chief Commissioner, Angus Mitchell, is leading the investigation, examining all possibilities, including whether the tug followed air traffic control instructions.

So that will be from both the pilots on board the Jetstar aircraft, those that were controlling the Qatar plane, as well as those in the coordination of air traffic control, to understand what potentially broke down in the coordination or communication.

— Angus MitchellOn the scope of the investigation into the Sydney Airport near-miss.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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