a plane with a broken wing

Korean Air A330 Collides with Cathay Pacific B777 in Japan

Sharad Ranabhat·
Aviation NewsCathay PacificKorean AirSafety

On the 16th of January, 2024 a Korean Air Airbus A330 collided with a Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 at New Chitose Airport in Japan.

The Korean Air Airbus A330-300 with registration HL7702 was preparing to depart as flight KE766 bound for Seoul with 276 passengers and 13 crew members on board. However, while the A330 was being pushed back from its stand in a snowy condition, its wing hit the APU compartment, horizontal stabilizer, and rudder of the Cathay Pacific Boeing 777.

The Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300 with registration B-HNW was parked at a nearby stand when it was struck by the Korean Air A330. The B777 was scheduled to depart as flight CX583, bound for Hong Kong.

a plane in the snow
Image via JACDEC

According to reports, the incident happened when a towing car, which was pushing the Korean A330, slipped due to snow on the ground. As a result, the A330’s left wing clipped the Cathay Pacific B777’s right tail wing.

“A Korean Air aircraft came into contact with a Cathay aircraft during pushback at New Chitose (Sapporo) Airport when the third-party ground handler vehicle slipped due to heavy snow. There were no injuries and the airline is cooperating with all relevant authorities.”

Korean Air Spokesperson

Korean Airlines’ initial assessment attributed the cause to a ground handler who was towing the airplane in heavy snow, the airline official said.

Both aircraft sustained damages during the collision, however, no one was injured in the incident. Passengers were on board the Korean Airlines aircraft but there was no one on the Cathay Pacific B777.

“Our aircraft, which was stationary at the time with no customers nor crew onboard, was struck by a Korean Air A330 which was taxiing past. The majority of our customers will be protected onto another Cathay Pacific service today, with the remainder traveling with us tomorrow. We extend our apologies to the affected customers.”

Cathay Pacific Spokesperson.

Following the incident, Cathay Pacific’s flight CX583 was canceled whereas, the Korean Air flight has been rescheduled as follows:

  • An aircraft to transport passengers from Sapporo will depart Incheon at 20:30 on January 16 and arrive in Sapporo at 23:30 
  • The rescheduled flight will arrive in Incheon at 04:15 am on January 17. 

Feature Image via JACDEC