Australia: Authorities investigating third runway incident at Sydney Airport
Sydney, Aug 14
The head of Australia's transport safety investigator said on Friday that the agency is trying to understand why a safety incident involving two planes at Sydney Airport on Sunday was reported late.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said on Thursday night that it has commenced an investigation into a runway incursion incident on August 9 involving Qantas flight QF728 to Ayers Rock Airport in central Australia and Virgin Australia flight VA555 to Perth.
A statement from the ATSB said that air traffic control cleared the Virgin Australia flight for a full-length runway take-off from Sydney around 10 am local time on Sunday. As the crew applied thrust, they observed the Qantas flight begin crossing the runway ahead of them, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The Virgin Australia flight subsequently came to a stop before being re-cleared to commence take-off.
ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio on Friday that he was not notified about the incident until Thursday.
"The two aircraft didn't come within, really, probably around a thousand meters of each other. But, notwithstanding that, it shouldn't have occurred," he said.
"We're still trying to understand exactly what the delay in the reporting to us was."
The ATSB said on Thursday that the Qantas crew involved in the incident on Sunday reported having received clearance to cross the runway.
It said that investigators would interview involved parties and review data.
The incident was the third runway incident at Sydney Airport in two weeks.
Earlier on Sunday, a Jetstar Australia flight was forced to brake suddenly to avoid colliding with a Qatar Airways jet that was being towed, while on July 27, a QantasLink flight and a Qantas plane were involved in a near-collision.
A crew member was injured in a near-collision between a Jetstar Airways flight and a Qatar Airways plane on a runway at Sydney Airport on Sunday morning.
Jetstar flight JQ402 to the Gold Coast was taxiing on the runway prior to taking off around 7 am Australian Eastern Standard Time on Sunday, when the pilot was forced to brake suddenly to avoid colliding with an empty Qatar Airways Boeing 777 that was being towed.
A Jetstar cabin crew worker was injured in the incident and treated by ambulance paramedics. No passengers were injured.
A spokesperson for Jetstar, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qantas, said that the airline has commenced an investigation into the incident.
"Our aircraft was following instructions by Air Traffic Control when the pilots were forced to brake firmly after another aircraft came in close proximity," they said.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Why did it take 5 days for the ATSB to be notified? That is more concerning than the incident itself. Transparency and timely reporting are crucial in aviation safety. Really hope the investigation digs deep into this delay too.
I travel to Australia often for work and this makes me nervous. Last week I almost missed my flight because of a runway delay. Now I understand why! The authorities should definitely look into whether there is a systemic issue at Sydney Airport or if it's just bad luck. 🤔
Acknowledging the efforts of ATSB and the crews here. Procedures likely saved lives. But honestly, if this happened in India, the media and public would be up in arms, demanding heads roll. Hope Australia takes this as seriously. Safety comes first, always.
As a frequent flyer on the Sydney-Perth route, this is disturbing. Good that the pilots were alert and averted a major collision. The ATSB needs to be strict and ensure proper communication lines are always open. Reporting delays are simply not good enough.
The incident involving the Jetstar crew member getting injured is a stark reminder of the risks aviation workers face. My cousin is a cabin crew member, and I worry about them every single day. Hope she and her colleagues are okay and that airlines prioritize worker safety. 🙏
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.