Japan: Two planes collide on the ground again, but no casualties

Europe 1 with AFP 15:33 p.m., January 16, 2024

In a statement, Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific said one of its planes parked at Shin-Chitose Airport was "struck by a Korean Air A330 taxiing on the ground." She said there were no passengers or staff on board her plane.

Korean Air said in a separate statement that no one was injured on board its A330 bound for Seoul Incheon, which was carrying 276 passengers and 13 crew members.

46 flights cancelled

At 17:35 p.m. (08 GMT), "a Korean Air aircraft made contact with a Cathay aircraft while reversing at Shin-Chitose Airport when a third-party ground handling vehicle skidded due to heavy snowfall," the South Korean carrier said.

Hokkaido has been hit by a cold front in recent days with heavy snowfall warnings issued in several cities. According to reports, 46 flights were cancelled on Tuesday due to heavy snowfall. "There were no injuries and the company is cooperating with all relevant authorities," she added.

Neither Cathay nor Korean Air has estimated the amount of damage caused. Both carriers simply stated that their respective passengers would be transferred to other aircraft.

Increased controls

Hokkaido Airports could not be reached for comment on the accident, which, according to Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting, did not cause a fuel leak.

The incident on the island of Hokkaido comes two weeks after a collision on the ground on January 2 between a Japan Airlines Airbus A350-900 and a smaller Japanese coast guard aircraft. The collision occurred when the JAL aircraft landed at Tokyo-Haneda, Honshu, from where the Coast Guard aircraft was scheduled to take off.

All 379 people on board the Japan Airlines plane were able to get out before it was engulfed in flames. But five of the six people on board the small plane died.

In the aftermath of the accident, the Japanese government announced last week that it had tightened its air traffic control procedures. "One of my most important missions is to restore confidence in aviation and public transport," Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito said.

New safety procedures

Under the new procedures, a staff member must constantly monitor a monitoring system that alerts control towers in the event of runway incursions. Also, to avoid misunderstandings, controllers should not tell planes where they are in the take-off queue.

A transcript of the Jan. 2 communications released by the ministry suggests that the JAL plane was cleared to land, but the coast guard plane was ordered to stop short of the runway. Controllers told the Coast Guard plane that it was "No. 1," or next in line for takeoff.

But the Coast Guard pilot, the sole survivor, reportedly said he believed he had permission to move onto the runway, where his plane remained about 40 seconds before the crash. Over the past decade, at least 23 "serious incidents" posing a risk of collision on the ground have been recorded at Japanese airports, according to the Asahi newspaper.