The air traffic controller is believed to have allowed the Airbus A320 flying to Bordeaux-Merignac to come in to land “forgetting” about another plane waiting to take off.
The planes are said to have passed within 178 feet of each other, according to an investigation into the incident.
France’s Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) has classified the incident on New Year’s Eve last year as a “serious encounter”.
The investigative body has pointed the finger at air traffic control for forgetting about the other plane, a Robin DR400 awaiting take-off, and giving the green light for the A320 to touch down, Mirror Online reports.
On the incident, the BEA said the shift manager had reduced the number of controllers to three, down from six.
It added: “Traffic then became very dense. The controller late authorised the A320 to land, forgetting the presence of the DR400 at the threshold.
“The DR400 pilot having understood that the A320 was authorised to land while still at threshold 23, reported to the controller, who immediately ordered the A320 to abort the approach.
“The tower manager and the controller, surprised, then became aware of the situation. The A320 crew, mainly focused on the end point during the final approach, never identified the presence of an aircraft at the runway threshold.”
The BEA continued: “The missed approach was executed by the easyJet crew. The lowest point of the trajectory was located at a height of 103 feet, at a distance of approximately 290 metres from the runway threshold.
"The A320 flew over the DR400 at a height of 178 feet, then continued on the standard trajectory.”
The DR400 later got the all-clear for take-off with the Airbus making a smooth landing on its second attempt.
An easyJet spokesperson said: “We are aware of the report regarding the ATC error which confirms that our pilots followed procedures at all times.
“The safety of our passengers and crew is our highest priority and we will always co-operate with safety investigations.”
