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| Date: | Sunday 7 August 2016 |
| Time: | 09:17 UTC |
| Type: |  Airbus A320-214 |
| Owner/operator: | easyJet |
| Registration: | G-EZTF |
| MSN: | 3922 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2009 |
| Engine model: | CFMI CFM56-5B4/P |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 175 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | near Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN/LEBL) -
 Spain
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | London-Gatwick Airport (LGW/EGKK) |
| Barcelona-El Prat Josep Tarradellas Airport (BCN/LEBL) | |
| Investigating agency: | CIAIAC |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
An Airbus A321-231 (EC-MHS), and an A320-214 (G-EZTF) were involved in a loss of separation incident as they were at 5000 ft maneuvering toward the Localizer (LOC) course for RWY 07L at the Barcelona-El Prat Airport (LEBL).
The first aircraft was inbound from the Gran Canaria Airport (GCLP) and maneuvering from the right of the LOC RWY 07L, which was in use at the time. The second aircraft had taken off from the London-Gatwick Airport (EGKK) and was maneuvering from the left of the Localizer. Both crews reacted to the instructions from the traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) to resolve the conflict without further consequences to the aircraft or to the persons onboard.
The investigation has identified the following circumstances in the incident: long duty period with heavy air traffic volume, no evaluation of traffic flow, unclear coordination criteria among air traffic controllers, deviations from the unit’s operating procedures, and the use of imprecise instructions by the approach controller to resolve the lack of separation.
The cause of the incident is deemed to have been the incorrect coordination between the Queue Manager (QM) and the Sector T3 executive controller. The following factors have also been identified as contributing to the loss of separation between the aircraft:
- Prior to the event, no consideration was given to limiting arriving traffic.
- The Sector T3 executive controller did not follow AMAN procedures.
- The Sector T3 executive controller did not follow the unit’s operating procedures when he transferred the aircraft to the Final Sector.
- The Final executive controller provided insufficient information to the aircraft.
- Use of incomplete phraseology by Final executive controller with aircraft EZY18EP.
- Approach control personnel were subjected to a high workload for an extended period of time.
- The complexity of the airspace’s structure.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
CIAIAC
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 24 February 2011 | G-EZTF | easyJet | 0 | Lisboa-Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS/LPPT) |  |
unk |
| Tailstrike | ||||||
| 31 March 2025 | OE-IJO | easyJet Europe | 0 | Paris-Orly Airport (ORY/LFPO) |  |
unk |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 15-Aug-2024 10:25 | ASN | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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