Two weeks after high profile collision, Korean Air plane bumps parked Cathay Pacific aircraft at Japanese airport

Tokyo, January 16

A Korean Air plane carrying 289 people hit a parked Cathay Pacific aircraft while taxiing to a runway at northern Japan’s New Chitose Airport but caused no fire or injuries on Tuesday, Japanese media reported.

The incident happened only two weeks after a high profile collision between a Japan Airlines airliner and a coast guard plane on a runway at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.

Airline passengers had to make an emergency exit due to a fire and five of the six crew members on the smaller plane were killed.

On Tuesday, the KAL plane was heading to a runway for takeoff when it bumped into the empty Cathay Pacific plane, according to the Kyodo News agency.

The news agency quoted a local fire department spokesperson as saying no fire or fuel leaks were detected.

No other details, including the extent of damage to the aircraft or what caused the taxiing aircraft to clip the parked one, were immediately available.

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