A Jetstar plane carrying 180 passengers and a Qatar aircraft were involved in a near-miss while taxiing at Sydney Airport on Sunday. The two planes nearly collided at about 7am after being forced to suddenly apply the brakes.
Frightening footage from inside the Jetstar plane showed the pilot announcing that a cabin crew member had been injured while demonstrating safety protocol. "With the sudden stop we have had a situation where one of our cabin crew has been injured," he said, adding that the aircraft would return to the bay.
"The situation there is that they said they didn't follow instructions, we were told to hold short and we were focused on crossing a runway, so only by chance that at the last minute we were able to stop," the pilot said. The Jetstar flight was bound for the Gold Coast while the Qatar plane was empty and being towed at the time. A dramatic photo showed the Qatar flight stopped just metres from the Jetstar aircraft.
Air traffic control instructions
A Jetstar spokesman said crew were following instructions given to them by Air Traffic Control. "Our aircraft was following instructions by Air Traffic Control when the pilots were forced to brake firmly after another aircraft came in close proximity," he said. "We have commenced an investigation into the incident."
Air traffic control was under operating restrictions from 6am to 8am, meaning fewer planes could fly in and out of the airport, the ABC reported. Airservices Australia blamed rostering issues for delays on the runway after more than 150 flights were affected on Friday and Saturday.
Former Jetstar pilot David Oliver described the near-miss as unusual. "Air traffic controllers work in a very coordinated fashion, especially at Sydney Airport," he told Sunrise. "I've had the privilege of being in the control tower on a number of occasions, and it's very unusual for something like this to happen."
Previous Sydney Airport runway incident
The incident comes just weeks after two Qantas planes were involved in a near-miss on the runway. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating why a Qantas jet was allowed to cross the main runway as a QantasLink flight was landing on July 27.
The Bureau described the incident as a "breakdown of co-ordination". "Air traffic control cleared the 737 on runway 25 to cross runway 34L while the Q400 was in the landing roll on runway 34L," it said. "ATC detected the conflict and advised both crews with the 737 stopping after the holding point."
Daily Mail understands both aircraft were acting on instructions from Airservices Australia air traffic controllers. A Qantas spokesman told Daily Mail "both Qantas aircraft were cleared to proceed following instructions from air traffic control" and said, "We will support the ATSB in the investigation."
Air traffic controllers and pilots will be interviewed, and investigators will retrieve recorded data and other relevant information. The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year. An Airservices Australia spokesman told Daily Mail "safety is Airservices' top priority and we are assisting the ATSB in their enquiries," adding, "Given the matter is currently under investigation, there is nothing further we can add at this stage."
