EasyJet horror as planes nearly crash after ‘wrong runway’ landing | World | News
An urgent investigation has been declared after a Nouvelair plane landing in the popular southern French city of Nice came within feet of crashing into an easyJet aircraft preparing to take off. The Tunisian Airbus tried to land on the wrong runway at Nice Côte d’Azur airport, which has two close parallel runways, officials have said.
Passengers on board the easyJet plane were waiting at the head of the runway to begin its takeoff when they heard the deafening sound of the incoming Nouvelair jet applying full power to avoid a collision. This incident took place at 11.30pm on Sunday (September 21), during heavy rain at France’s third busiest airport. Philippe Tabarot, the French transport minister, said “a collision involving two aircraft of the Nouvelair and EasyJet airlines was narrowly avoided” and that he had “immediately ordered” an investigation by the air accident investigation branch (BEA).
If full, the two aircraft – both Airbus A320s – would have been carrying over 300 passengers and crew between them.
The airport management has blamed the pilots of the landing Nouvelair Airbus, flight BJ586 from Tunis, telling Nice Matin: “It seems that the Nouvelair pilot made an error”.
However, this is not the only potential cause. The control tower, which clears aircraft to land, could also have made the error.
Flight tracking data shows the Tunisian Airbus approaching the right northeast-running runway and almost touching down before aborting the landing. The easyJet Airbus can be seen waiting on the same runway, then leaving it and taxiing back to the terminal. The Tunisian aircraft flew around and then landed on the parallel left runway.
Departing traffic had been using Runway 04R all evening, while arriving traffic had been exclusively using Runway 04L. ADS-B data – which is reported in 25-foot increments – by Flightradar24 shows the altitude reported by the Nouvelair flight as it passed over the easyJet plane was 50 feet. An A320 aircraft has a tail height of 38 feet, seven inches.
The pilots of the easyJet flight 4706 to Nantes were left so rattled by the near miss that it was then cancelled. It was cancelled and the passengers were sent home. The captain was in a visible state of shock when he emerged from the flight deck and told passengers that “a crash had been avoided by three metres”, Érard, a 29-year-old traveller, told Le Figaro newspaper. The captain said the incident had been the fault of the other plane, he added.
The BEA has said the event is a “serious incident” and grounded both flights to complete its investigation. Both black box recorders have been taken and the pilots and air traffic controllers will be interviewed. The poor weather conditions will also be studied. The agency has cautioned against premature conclusions, but did confirm that the Nouvelair had approached the wrong runway.
