Asiana plane collides with Turkish jet

A video capture shows an Asiana plane colliding with a stationary Turkish airliner at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, Sunday. / Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

An Asiana airliner carrying 222 passengers hit a stationary Turkish Airlines plane in Istanbul, Sunday, damaging the latter's vertical stabilizer.

No one was hurt in the collision. The transport ministry is set to launch an investigation to uncover who is at fault.

It may serve as a setback for Asiana which hopes to catch up with Korean Air, given the industry leader is embroiled in a slew of controversies hurting its reputation and pushing its chairman to the brink of resignation.

According to the nation's second-largest airline and international media, the Asiana Airbus A330 heading for Incheon was taxiing on the runway of Istanbul Ataturk Airport before its starboard wing tip touched the Turkish A321's stabilizer.

The collision resulted in a fire on the Turkish jet, forcing fire crews to rush to the scene. The Asiana aircraft's wing tip was also seriously damaged.

The flight to Korea was canceled and the passengers were offered hotel accommodations, according to the Korean full-service carrier. Asiana also sent another plane from Incheon Monday to transport the passengers.

Turkish authorities have investigated the cause of the accident. In response, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport also plans to send its staff to Istanbul to check what exactly caused this incident.

“If the ministry finds the collision is Asiana's fault, the airline will face an administrative measure,” a ministry official said.

It may be a bitter pill to swallow for Asiana _ in particular, at a very crucial moment, where its nemesis Korean Air is caught in unprecedented “huge” troubles regarding its owner family's abuse of power against employees as well as a variety of misconduct allegations.

Due to the brouhaha, there had been some whispers that Asiana could narrow its deficit with Korean Air, but the Sunday mishap is expected to put a damper on the company's emergence.

Previously, Asiana made global headlines in 2013 due to its accident in San Francisco, when one of its airplanes struck a seawall as it was landing at San Francisco International Airport on July 6, 2013, killing three Chinese passengers and injuring more than 180.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board concluded its flight crew over-relied on automated systems they did not fully understand, leading to a “too low and too slow” landing.