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Minister orders probe into near-miss at Kualanamu airport
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A Lion Air aircraft parked on the tarmac at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang on August. 19, 2015. (Kompas.com/Yoga Sukmana)
T
ransportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has ordered an investigation into an incident at Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, North Sumatra, on Thursday in which two aircraft clipped wings.
A Lion Air Boeing airplane that had just landed and a Wings Air airplane that was preparing for takeoff clipped wings.
Budi said Thursday he had instructed the National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) to find out which party was in the wrong.
Read also: Planes collide on Medan runway, no casualties
“I advise pilots to be more careful, especially because the profession relies heavily on competence,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an inspection of haj flights at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng, Banten.
Separately, Lion Air Group public relations manager Andy M. Saladin said in a statement that no passengers had been injured in the incident. Both planes were damaged, according to pictures circulating on social media.
Andy said the planes had been moved to the apron to avoid further disruptions in airport operations.
The Wings Air plane was carrying 66 passengers, while the Lion Air plane was carrying 144.
The incident caused the delay of 21 flights at the airport, according to AirNav data.
"At the moment, [operations] have returned to normal because the runway was closed for only 20 minutes," AirNav corporate secretary Didiet KS Radityo said. (lnd)
