Pilots' skill saved Qatar Airways and Jetstar from collision!

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said it received information indicating that an Airbus A320 operated by Jetstar and a Boeing 777 operated by Qatar Airways narrowly avoided a collision on a runway at Sydney Airport today, and that an investigation has been opened into the incident.

The regulatory body added in a statement, as reported by Reuters today, that the Jetstar aircraft, which was moving slowly in preparation for takeoff to Gold Coast in Queensland, was noticed by its crew to be very close to the Qatar Airways plane, which was being towed by a tug, on a crossing taxiway, noting that “both aircraft came to an abrupt stop.”

It clarified that one cabin crew member on the Jetstar flight was injured, and the tow bar connecting the nose gear of the Qatar Airways aircraft to the tug was damaged.

Jetstar, the low-cost arm of Australia’s national carrier Qantas, said it was also investigating the incident. A Jetstar spokesperson said in a statement: “Our aircraft was following air traffic control instructions when the pilots were forced to apply heavy braking after another aircraft approached closely.”

The Australian Airservices Authority, the federal agency responsible for managing air transport, said it implemented a “departure spacing” procedure at the airport “to manage expected air traffic demand and ensure safe departures” following the near-collision incident. The authority declined to comment on the cause of the incident, stating that it is still under review. The incident comes a day after Sydney Airport experienced widespread delays due to the same procedure implemented by the Australian Airservices Authority, which it attributed to issues with air traffic controllers’ work schedules.