Sydney Airport Near-Miss Incident Involves Qatar Airways and Jetstar Aircraft
A near-miss incident occurred at Sydney Airport on Sunday when a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 and Jetstar A320 aircraft came close to colliding while taxiing. The Jetstar pilots were forced to brake sharply after coming into proximity with the Qatar Airways jet, which was operating as part of a routine flight.
The incident is the second near-miss at Sydney Airport in two weeks, following a Qantas runway crossing incident on July 27. Air traffic control staffing shortages have contributed to more than 150 flight delays on Saturday, including about 95 across the Qantas network and some Virgin Australia services.
A ground controller and tug operator were stood down from their duties and will undergo mandatory drug and alcohol testing as part of standard policy. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating the incident and has collected data from both aircraft, air traffic control, CCTV footage, and interviews with flight crew, tug operators, controllers, and other witnesses.
Transport Minister Catherine King stated that it would be inappropriate to provide further commentary at this time, as the ATSB will be leading the investigation. The Qatar Airways Boeing 777 suffered damage to its connection between the nose gear and its tug.