Ryanair flight escapes a narrow miss passing just 90 metres from other aircraft over Barcelona airport

THERE is evidence that passenger safety was put at risk, according to a report into a near-miss between two planes over Barcelona Airport last year.

New details have emerged regarding a dramatic incident that occurred at Barcelona Airport last June which could have ended in tragedy.  A Ryanair flight, with 187 passengers and six crew aboard, narrowly avoided colliding with an Airbus 300 belonging to European Air Transport (EAT) Leipzig. According to a report by the Civil Aviation Accidents and Incidents Investigation Commission (CIAIAC), the two aircraft came within just 90 metres of each other.

The Ryanair plane, a Boeing 737, was taking off from Barcelona airport on route to Bergamo, Italy,  when a collision alert was activated by an incoming Airbus 300 which had aborted its landing. The Ryanair flight was travelling at top speed when it came dangerously close to hitting the Airbus according to Preferente

According to an exhaustive report, the CIAIAC determined that the Ryanair crew were not to blame, and that if the Airbus 300 had immediately notified its missed approach, air traffic control could have held the Ryanair aircraft and not allowed it to take off.

Incident procedures followed by air traffic control were also at fault, say the CIAIAC, as the controllers had asked the Ryanair flight to abort its take off when it was already in the air and then mistakenly asked its crew to keep the plane at a height which risked collision with the Airbus 300.

The CIAIAC report highlights the potential danger of these situations and suggests that Air Traffic Control procedures and instructions need to be reviewed to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.

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