TOKYO/SEOUL: On Tuesday, two Korean Air Lines and Cathay Pacific Airways aircraft collided at New Chitose Airport on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido due to wintry weather, according to a Korean Air official. There were no injuries on either plane, according to Japanese media. According to a Korean Air spokesman, the flight had 289 passengers and crew members. Japanese media reports conflicted on whether passengers were on board the Cathay Pacific flight. Cathay Pacific Airways did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An airport spokesperson said the airport received a call about the incident shortly after 1730 local time (0830 GMT) on Tuesday.
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The Korean Air Lines flight 766 bound for Seoul and the Cathay Pacific Airways flight 583 heading to Hong Kong were next to each other at gates. The incident happened when a towing car, which was pushing the Korean Air plane backwards ahead of departure, slipped due to snow on the ground, leading the airplane’s left wing to clip the Cathay Pacific plane’s right tail wing, the Korean Air official said. More than 80 domestic and international flights departing and arriving New Chitose Airport have been cancelled due to bad weather on Tuesday, the airport spokesperson said.
