Two Ryanair planes in near miss after controllers’ error

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. But the ZGZ controller also told his aircraft to lose altitude, saying: “Descend immediately level 320.” The report says: “Both controllers issued the same manoeuvres to the two aircraft for different reasons, aggravating the situation.” Three simultaneous conversations ensued, the report says: between the two controllers, who informed each other they were descending their aircraft, and the first plane’s crew, requesting confirmation of the descent instruction. His PAL colleague said: “Mine is already descending!” The first aircraft’s crew asked: “Can you confirm it’s descend FL330?” Under European Union Aviation Safety Agency rules, the vertical separation should be a minimum of 1,000 feet and 5 nautical miles horizontally. The ZGZ controller handed over the latter plane to the Bordeaux Area Control Centre, and had to warn them “this was not in accordance with the letter of agreement between the two units”. "Contributing to the incident was the improper handling of the conflict by the controllers in both sectors, who issued similar instructions to the two aircraft, contrary to what had been agreed previously.” Ryanair’s pilots were cleared of any responsibility: “The actions of the crews are deemed not to have contributed in any way.” The airline is the safest in the world in terms of passengers flown without a fatal accident.