Another near miss at SYD - JQ vs QR

[JessicaTam]

Another near miss at SYD.

Former pilot says plane near-miss could have been ‘catastrophic’

He said the incident that injured a crew member was unusual.

7news.com.au

There has been another near-miss between two planes at Sydney Airport that has injured a Jetstar crew member.

The Jetstar and Qatar Airlines flights are believed to have nearly collided about 7am on Sunday after the aircraft were forced to brake to avoid a collision

(Edit: removed ATC comment)

 

[Dmac59]

Another near miss at SYD.

Former pilot says plane near-miss could have been ‘catastrophic’

He said the incident that injured a crew member was unusual.

7news.com.au

(Edit: removed ATC comment)

Though the JQ pilot comments implied the QR did not follow instructions.
Maybe pilot error.

 

[Saab34]

Listening to the playback the tug did read back correctly, was directed to follow the Jetstar A320.

Looking at the maps the intersection/ area where this occurred seems a bit busy.

Tug reported tow bar has separated from the 777 I assume due to heavy braking.

 

[justinbrett]

Though the JQ pilot comments implied the QR did not follow instructions.
Maybe pilot error.

QR was under tow so probably no pilots onboard.

As soon as I saw it involved a taxiing aircraft and an aircraft under tow, I was pretty sure it wasn’t an ATC issue.

 

[Melburnian1]

7 News in Melbourne at 1800 hours on Sunday 9 August 2026 had a longer report than in the initial link above provided by @JessicaTam.

It featured the pilot or second officer's statements recorded at the time, but also (IIRC) had a former QF pilot (David Oliver IIRC) stating how such incidents could prove catastrophic.

The report referenced how the latest incident was the second one at Sydney in the last couple of weeks.

It stated that the injured JQd cabin crew member sustained a wrist injury.

It also had a very brief clip of Federal Minister for Transport Catherine King who said she'd be meeting with Airservices Australia on Monday (morning?) . IIRC she commented that AA would present (or needed to come up with? - apologies, I didn't record) a plan to improve operations as no none wants to see passengers inconvenienced as they have been.

The report also had a gent from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau making the obvious statement that it will consider what instructions the tug towing the QR aircraft received and what then resulted.

One rather heavily accented passenger was featured: she may have blamed ATC for the occurrence but she was difficult to understand.

The reporter commented that on Sunday 9 between 1900 and 2100 hours (i.e. shortly) there would be further (Sydney) delays due to what the experts on AFF would call extra separation between aircraft. She also correctly said that delays at present were pretty minimal.

As is usual with TV news services, the report is yet to be uploaded to the Channel 7 website. Viewing it may correct some of the above as I didn't take notes or record it.

 

[RB001]

It would appear that a ground controller and tug operator have been stood down - obviously more to come...

Two airport workers stood down after near miss at Sydney airport

A Jetstar A320 was forced to brake suddenly to avoid colliding with a Boeing 777 on the tarmac at Sydney Airport, with both planes stopping abruptly in an incident that injured a cabin crew worker.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Quickstatus]

If the JQ flight was taxiing at the time it had to suddenly brake. How did the cabin crew get injured. I would have thought everyone would have seatbelts on.

 

[Melburnian1]

@RB001 , 'mandatory drug and alcohol testing' doesn't take long (although maybe analysis takes longer).

Does this mean that if these two individuals are in the clear after testing, they'll be immediately reinstated?

 

[justinbrett]

If the JQ flight was taxiing at the time it had to suddenly brake. How did the cabin crew get injured. I would have thought everyone would have seatbelts on.

Crew do not need to be seated for taxi. Haven’t you seen them do cabin checks?

 

[Quickstatus]

CASA has the power to test anyone who are airside and who work in a safety sensitive aviation activity SSAA. Refusing a test is a criminal offence.

Employers can also test their employees via a Drug and alcohol Management Program.

The drugs that are tested
Alcohol
Opiates
Cannabinoids
Cocaine
Amphetamines

Alcohol : breath test Limit is 0.02
Drug : saliva swab

If the first sample is positive a second sample is done and if the second is positive the employee cannot return to the safety sensitive aviation activity until cleared by medical which may include drug intervention programs.

If negative the employee returns to their SSAA

Crew do not need to be seated for taxi.

I've only ever seen them seated and buckled while the aircraft is taxiing.

 

[justinbrett]

I've only ever seen them seated and buckled while the aircraft is taxiing.

That’s quite incredible, I don’t think I can think of even one example where the crew have done their safety briefing and completed the cabin checks, secured the galley etc all before the aircraft starts taxiing. On widebodies sometimes the video is still playing during taxi.

It’s why you see them checking in with the cabin manager who then advises the coughpit the cabin is secure. For a short taxi this could be done at the runway holding point.

 

[Quickstatus]

That’s quite incredible,

Well, that is my experience. And I sit in aisles often quite close to the exit doors.

 

[Austman]

I agree with justinbrett.

The cabin crew are often un-seated/seat-belted during taxi until the captain announces "cabin crew be seated for take-off".

 

[justinbrett]

Well, that is my experience. And I sit in aisles often quite close to the exit doors.

Well as I said, that’s quite incredible because it’s not the norm and it’s definitely not the rule. The cabin checks are usually done during taxi, depending on how long the pushback takes and how long the safety briefing goes for - as the checks don’t start until the end of the briefing (well the end of the core part of the briefing).

 

[Melburnian1]

Well as I said, that’s quite incredible because it’s not the norm and it’s definitely not the rule. The cabin checks are usually done during taxi, depending on how long the pushback takes and how long the safety briefing goes for - as the checks don’t start until the end of the briefing (well the end of the core part of the briefing).

I agree,. Cabin crew always do a safety briefing and checks while the aircraft is taxiing.

 

[transpactraveller]

I've only ever seen them seated and buckled while the aircraft is taxiing.

I have quite often seen them walking around and giving the safety demonstration during the taxiing for take off. There is usually a PA made for cabin crew to now be seated for takeoff when the aircraft nears the runway. I listen out for this as it signals we're about to takeoff. It's usually then I turn my phone to flight mode.

However for taxiing after landing they always stay seated until the aircraft is parked at the gate. Even for lengthy ground delays waiting for a gate they will stay seated. Sometimes even making a PA that they are on an active taxiway meaning all customers and crew must remain seated with seatbelts fastened.

So it does seem like there might be different rules for taxiing to take off vs after landing?

Perhaps that will change as a result of this near miss and crew member injury.

 

[Quickstatus]

The cabin checks are usually done during taxi

Ah apologies , My mistake.
I thought the JQ flight had arrived from OOL rather than departing for OOL

Yes on departure, there are cabin checks safety briefings while taxiing on departure because that is the only time it can be done.

On arrival Ive only seen the Cc seated and buckled in

 

[mel-world]

I would have thought the two JQ pilots should have observed the 777 under tow. They said they were concentrating on crossing an active runway but I have seen many coughpit videos where both pilots check left and right prior to crossing any taxiways. Maybe they heard the tug operator being instructed to hold so assumed he would do that but they should be questioned at least.