RUNWAY SMASH
Two passenger planes collide at Hokkaido’s New Chitose Airport in Japan in SECOND runway crash in weeks
Dozens of flights had already been cancelled at the airport due to blizzard conditions
TWO passenger planes have collided at an airport in Japan - weeks after five were left dead in another crash.
The Korean Air and Cathay Pacific planes came into contact at New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido at 5.30pm local time.
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The Cathay Pacific aircraft was parked on the tarmac when it was hit by a moving Korean Air plane, the fire department said.
Cathay Pacific confirmed the aircraft was on the ground at the time and there were no passengers or crew on board, according to broadcaster .
The airline representative said its flight CX583 from Sapporo to Hong Kong was cancelled and the passengers would be moved onto another service.
"The majority of our customers will be protected onto another Cathay Pacific service today, with the remainder travelling with us tomorrow. We extend our apologies to the affected customers," he added.
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Footage showed a huge hole ripped out from under the wing of the Cathay Pacific plane where the Korean Air flight crashed into it and crumpled the end of its own wing.
The Korean Air plane was preparing for take off when its left wing collided with the right tail wing of the Cathay Pacific plane parked next to it, according to the airport officials.
The Korean Air official stated that the incident occurred when a towing car, which was moving the Korean Air plane backwards ahead of departure, slipped because of snow on the ground.
It's understood there were 289 passengers on board the Korean Air flight.
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"There were no injuries and the airline is cooperating with all relevant authorities," the spokeswoman said.
At least 46 flights have been cancelled from and to New Chitose Airport today due to blizzard conditions.
It comes just two weeks after a Japan Airlines flight smashed into a coastguard aircraft - leaving five people dead.
The plane erupted in flames after the collision at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on January 2.
All 367 passengers and 12 crew members on board the Airbus A350 were evacuated - but five crew on the Japan Coast Guard plane died.
The captain - the only survivor on the plane - was named as Captain Genki Miyamoto, 39.
The shocking crash was caught on camera as passengers and airport workers watched on in horror.
Images from NHK showed flames coming out of the plane's windows and from beneath the aircraft.
One passenger managed to capture the panic inside the plane as smoke took over the entire cabin.
People were seen covering their faces with their hands or masks, as others were heard yelling in the background.
Following the crash, air traffic control recordings heaped mystery on the catastrophic disaster.
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While the Japan Airlines plane had been given permission to land, the coastguard aircraft had been told to stop short of the runway,
But a coastguard source said its pilot received the green light to take off, the outlet said - contradicting the controller's account of events.
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