Minor collision between planes reported at Japanese airport

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Japanese Airlines jet erupts in flames at Tokyo’s Haneda airport

A Japanese Airlines passenger plane with hundreds of passengers burst into flames at Tokyo’s Haneda airport following a possible collision.

• A Korean Air plane with 289 people on board hit a parked Cathay Pacific aircraft at New Chitose Airport in northern Japan.
• The incident occurred as the Korean Air plane was moving from its parking spot to the runway for takeoff.
• There were no injuries, fire or fuel leaks reported among the 276 passengers and 13 crew members on the Korean Air flight.

A Korean Air plane carrying 289 people hit a parked Cathay Pacific aircraft while being pushed by a ground vehicle ahead of takeoff at northern Japan’s New Chitose Airport on Tuesday but caused no fire or injuries, fire and airline officials said.

The incident happened only two weeks after a collision between a Japan Airlines airliner and a coast guard plane on a runway at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport which caused the passenger plane to catch fire. Passengers had to flee using emergency slides before the larger plane was gutted by fire. Five of the six crew members on the smaller plane were killed.

On Tuesday, the Korean Air plane had just started moving away from its parking spot to a runway for takeoff when its left wing came into contact with the vertical stabilizer of the empty Cathay Pacific plane parked next to it, according to the Chitose City Fire Department.

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KAL said in a statement that its Flight 766, an Airbus A330-300, which was scheduled to fly to Seoul’s Inchon airport, came in contact with the Cathay aircraft “during a pushback” when a third-party “ground handler vehicle slipped due to heavy snow.” The airline said it is cooperating with all relevant authorities in the case.

A plane is seen at New Chitose Airport on March 18, 2018, in Hokkaido, Japan. A Japanese fire department says a Korean Air plane carrying 289 people hit a parked Cathay Pacific aircraft while being pushed by a vehicle from a parking spot at the airport. (Manabu Takahashi/Getty Images)

None of the KAL plane’s 276 passengers and 13 crew members was injured, and no fire or fuel leaks were detected, the fire department said. KAL said a replacement plane was to arrive in New Chitose late Tuesday to pick up the passengers.

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NHK public television showed the broken tip of the Korean Air plane’s left wing. Cathay Flight 584 was parked after arriving from Hong Kong, NHK said.

Aviation officials are investigating the causes of the crash.

Transportation officials are also still investigating the cause of the fatal Haneda Airport collision, focusing on the communication between air traffic controllers and the two planes.