Korean Air, Cathay Pacific planes clip wings at Japan airport during snowy weather
Incident happens just weeks after fiery Japan Airlines plane collision in Tokyo
Passenger planes come into contact at New Chitose Airport during wintry weather conditions. (Credit: Reuters)
Two passenger planes clipped wings Tuesday at an airport in Japan’s northern island during snowy conditions just weeks after a dramatic collision at Tokyo's Haneda Airport left a Japan Airlines jet in flames.
The incident involving jets from Korean Air Lines and Cathay Pacific Airways unfolded around 5:30 p.m. local time at New Chitose Airport, where a towing vehicle pushing the Korean Air plane backward ahead of departure lost traction due to the snow, according to Reuters.
Both planes were next to each other at gates, and the Korean Air plane’s left wing ended up clipping the right tail wing of the other aircraft, a Korean Air official told Reuters.
The Korean Air plane was carrying more than 280 passengers on a flight to Seoul, while the Cathay Pacific jet was empty after disembarking passengers on an arriving flight from Hong Kong, NHK reports. There were no reports of injuries.
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The tail of the Cathay Pacific jet, center, can be seen damaged after the planes clipped each other. (Reuters / Reuters Photos)
Video taken in the aftermath showed damage to the rear of the Cathay Pacific plane.
The incident happened as at least 60 flights arriving and departing New Chitose were canceled Tuesday, according to FlightAware.
Over the weekend, a Japanese domestic flight that took off from the same airport was forced to turn around and land after a crack was found in the cockpit window of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft in midair.
All Nippon Airways Flight 1182 took off Saturday from New Chitose Airport headed for Toyama airport, about 700 miles to the south, but reversed course after the crack was discovered on the outermost of four layers of windows surrounding the cockpit, the spokesperson said.
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The planes clipped each other after a vehicle pulling the Korean Air jet lost traction on the tarmac, reports say. (Reuters / Reuters Photos)
There were no injuries reported among the 59 passengers and six crew in that incident, according to the ANA spokesperson.
On Jan. 2, a Japan Airlines plane collided with a coast guard aircraft at Tokyo's Haneda airport and burst into flames.
All 379 passengers aboard JAL flight 516 were safely evacuated before the jet was consumed by a fire that took more than six hours to extinguish.
A Japan Airlines airplane is seen on fire at Haneda international airport in Tokyo on Jan. 2. (REUTERS/Issei Kato TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY / Reuters Photos)
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However, five of the six crew of the smaller aircraft were killed, with the pilot surviving but badly injured. The coast guard plane had been on its way to deliver aid to areas on Japan's west coast that were hit by an earthquake.
Fox Business’ Chris Pandolfo and Reuters contributed to this report.