A Jetstar A320 and a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 narrowly avoided colliding on the tarmac at Sydney airport on Sunday, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau was told, it said, as it began an investigation into the incident. The Jetstar plane was taxiing for take off to Queensland state’s Gold Coast when its flight crew saw the Qatar Airways plane, which was being towed by an aircraft tug, very close on a crossing taxiway, the regulator said. “Both aircraft were stopped abruptly,” the transport safety bureau said.A cabin crew member on the Jetstar plane was injured, and the connection between the Qatar Airways plane’s nose gear and the aircraft tug was damaged, the regulator said. Jetstar said it was investigating the incident, too. “Our aircraft was following instructions by ATC when the pilots were forced to brake firmly after another aircraft came in close proximity,” a Jetstar spokesperson said. Qatar Airways is yet to comment.
