Jetstar passenger plane and van nearly collide on airport tarmac

A near miss between a Jetstar flight and a vehicle on the tarmac is being investigated by authorities after a series of incidents at a north Queensland airport.

The Airbus A320 was approaching Townsville airport from Brisbane on October 7 when the pilots noticed a white van near the edge of the runway.

The plane passed over the van with about 15 metres clearance.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating the near miss that it has labelled a "serious incident".

In a statement, Jetstar said the flight landed normally and without incident.

"Safety is our number one priority, and we are working with the ATSB to understand the circumstances surrounding this incident," a spokesperson said.

The Townsville Airport is owned by Queensland Airports Limited but operates as a joint user facility under an agreement with the Australian Defence Force.

Air traffic control services at the Townsville airport are provided by the Australian Air Force.

"Defence is working closely with the ATSB regarding its investigation into a runway incursion and near collision at RAAF Base Townsville/Townsville Airport on 7 October 2026, after a vehicle entered a restricted airside area," a department spokesperson said.

"As this matter is under investigation Defence will make no further comment at this time."

Several ongoing investigations

The recent near miss follows several serious incidents at Sydney Airport in recent months, including one the ATSB said was one of the most severe runway incidents in more than 20 years.

It is also the fourth incident the ATSB is investigating in or near Townsville Airport in the last two months.

On September 5, a Jetstar flight had been scheduled to take off from Townsville to Brisbane when the crew identified a performance calculation error — where the wrong numbers, settings or weight data had been used to calculate essential flight information.

In a separate incident on September 23, a Qantas flight from Brisbane to Townsville issued a mayday call due to low fuel levels after three missed landings at Townsville airport due to poor visibility.

Meanwhile, a near-collision on October 1, about 18km west of Townsville Airport, is being investigated as a "serious incident".

According to the ATSB investigation summary, in that incident, a de Havilland DHC-8 (Dash 8) and a two-seater Aeroprakt A22LS were both in communication with the Townsville approach controller but did not see each other until they were about 1km apart. 

They were about 500m apart before the Dash-8 dropped to a lower altitude to avoid a collision.

Searching for cause

Sidney Dekker from Griffith University's Safety Science and Innovation Lab said there was only cause for concern if there was a common cause behind the incidents.

"Once we know what the ATSB comes up with in their investigation, then we'll have a better view of the extent to which it is connected to longstanding issues at Townsville or other airports across Australia," he said.

"Before they're done with that, there's really no basis for us to speculate about the cause."

He said the near miss involving the van was "serious enough to have a closer look at" and a "fairly rare" incident.

Dr Dekker said it was reassuring that an accident had not actually happened.

"It's reassuring the system worked," he said.

'"It came down to the final line of defence — if that's how you want to put it — that the pilots saw the van and went, 'Yeah right, we're not landing where this thing is sitting.' That is exactly what the system is supposed to do."

The ATSB will hand down reports on each incident after its investigation.