Plane lands just two seconds after another flight takes off from same runway

The two planes were just over half a mile apart

An easyJet plane took off from Edinburgh airport just two seconds before a Norwegian jet landed on the same runway, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has revealed.

The Norwegian Boeing 737 from the US was given clearance to land even though the easyJet Airbus A320, bound for Luton, was still on the runway.

The CAA has described it as a “runway incursion”, saying: “The 737 was over the runway surface when the A320 was still on its takeoff roll.”

The rules stipulate: “A landing aircraft shall not be permitted to cross the beginning of the runway on its final approach until a preceding aircraft, departing from the same runway, is airborne.”

The incident took place at Scotland’s busiest airport at 9.48am on 13 August 2018.

The two aircraft were as close as 850m, just over half a mile apart.

The Airbus was making a normal departure under the control of a trainee air-traffic controller. The Norwegian plane was inbound after a transatlantic flight from Stewart airport in New York State.

The Norwegian crew were told to maintain a speed of at least 160 knots on the approach, rather than a specific speed. As a result, the Boeing approached faster than normal. The report says: ”A combination of factors, including brief delays to the departure of the A320 and the speed of the Boeing 737 being higher than normal, led to the reduction in separation before the controllers became aware of the closeness of the aircraft.

“The trainee controller lacked the experience to resolve the situation in a timely manner and the supervising On-The-Job Training Instructor judged it safer to let the 737 land than to initiate a go-around in proximity to the departing aircraft.”

A runway incursion is defined as: “Any occurrence at an aerodrome involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle or person on the protected area of a surface designated for aircraft take-off and landing.”

The report makes clear that the Norwegian pilot made a call while half a nauticalmile from the runway to remind controllers of the jet’s position, and prompt them for a go-around instruction if required.

The pilots of the easyJet flight were unaware of the proximity of the Norwegian aircraft.

A spokesperson for the airline said: “easyJet is aware of the report and fully assisted the AAIB with its investigation. The safety of our passengers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority.”