An incident occurred at Nice Côte d’Azur airport in France involving an easyJet plane that narrowly avoided a collision with a Nouvelair jet. The two aircraft, both Airbus A320s, were carrying over 300 passengers and crew combined. The near-miss incident, which took place during heavy rain at the airport, prompted an urgent investigation by the French transport minister after the planes came within 10ft of each other.
The pilot of the easyJet flight reported that only three meters separated the planes as the incoming Nouvelair jet applied full power to avoid the collision. The airport management attributed the error to the pilot of the landing Nouvelair Airbus, flight BJ586 from Tunis, for attempting to land on the wrong runway. However, the control tower’s clearance for landing on the incorrect runway could also be a contributing factor.
The easyJet Airbus was waiting on the same runway but had to taxi back to the terminal as the Tunisian aircraft eventually landed on the parallel left runway. The near-miss caused significant alarm among the passengers and crew of the easyJet flight, leading to the cancellation of the flight to Nantes.
The incident has been classified as a “serious incident” by the air accident investigation branch (BEA), which grounded both flights for further investigation. The agency will analyze flight data recorders and conduct interviews with pilots and air traffic controllers to determine the cause of the close call. Weather conditions at the time will also be scrutinized as part of the investigation.
An easyJet spokesperson emphasized the airline’s commitment to safety and cooperation with the ongoing investigation to ascertain the details of the incident. The BEA has cautioned against premature conclusions but confirmed that the Nouvelair jet had approached the wrong runway, leading to the risky situation.