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Carriers blame each other after two South Korean jets collide
Two South Korean airliners have collided at Gimpo Airport, with the two carriers blaming each other for the accident.
A tow truck was moving an Asiana Airlines jet to a boarding gate when it struck the tail of a Korean Air plane with its wing.
No passengers were aboard either plane at the time but both suffered damage.
That led to hours-long departure delays for both carriers.
Now the blame game has started.
"Our plane was being moved to boarding gate 35, and the control tower ordered us to stand by on the taxiway. We had been waiting about four minutes when the wing of an Asiana Airlines plane hit our tail," a Korean Air official said.
That was refuted by Asiana, which said the Korean Air jet was still on the move at the time.
"Our plane was moving properly according to orders given by the control tower," an Asiana Airlines representative said.
According to an unnamed airport staffer who was at the scene during the bump, the Korean Air plane was in fact stationary but was parked in the wrong spot.
"The front wheel of the Korean Air plane should’ve been touching the yellow mark on the ground, but the towing vehicle was standing on it instead," the airport staffer said.
Airport officials have already hinted that one or possibly both the tow truck drivers may be to blame.
It is still investigating the incident.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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