Safety regulators launched an investigation on Sunday (Aug 9) into a "near collision" between two passenger aircraft at Australia's busiest airport that injured a crew member.
The incident, which involved a Jetstar pilot being forced to apply sudden brakes to avoid crashing into a Qatar Airways jet on Sunday morning, disrupted operations at Sydney Airport.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said a Jetstar Airbus A320 was taxiing for a flight to the Gold Coast on Sunday morning when its crew "observed a Qatar Airways Boeing 777, under tow from an aircraft tug, in close proximity on a crossing taxiway".
"A cabin crew member aboard the (Jetstar) A320 was injured, and there was damage to the connection between the 777 nose gear and aircraft tug" as both planes stopped abruptly, the statement said.
Investigators are collecting data from both aircraft, air traffic control, and interviewing crew and tug operators to determine the cause of the near collision, the regulator said.
It called for witnesses at the airport to send in any video of the near collision.
Flights at Sydney Airport are experiencing delays after the incident, Airservices Australia said.
"Our aircraft was following instructions by Air Traffic Control when the pilots were forced to brake firmly after another aircraft came in close proximity," said a Jetstar spokeswoman.
A Jetstar crew member moving through the cabin was injured when the plane abruptly stopped, and later treated by paramedics.
Qatar Airways did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An official not authorised to speak publicly said early information suggested the tug pulling the Qatar plane did not follow air traffic control instructions.
Airservices Australia, the federal agency responsible for managing air traffic, said it enacted "departure spacing" at the airport "to safely manage projected airborne and departure demands" following the near-miss.
It declined to comment on the cause of the incident, as it was under review.
The near-miss comes a day after the airport was hit by widespread delays, after Airservices Australia enacted the same strategy due to what it said were "roster constraints" with air traffic controllers.
– Agencies
