Summary
- An investigation has been launched into easyJet flight U2 8414 after it took off from the mistaken intersection.
- The French BEA and UK AAIB are conducting investigations to enhance aviation safety.
- easyJet is cooperating with the investigation, and it’s unclear what consequences the pilots may face.
An easyJet flight operated on July thirtieth has come under investigation by the British Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and the French Bureau of Enquiry and Evaluation for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) on August tenth. The investigation comes after the flight initiated its take-off from the mistaken intersection, with the agencies rating the occurrence a serious incident.
Which easyJet flight?
The easyJet flight was U2 8414, a thrice-weekly scheduled business flight that ferries passengers from Toulouse Blagnac Airport in France to London Gatwick Airport within the UK. easyJet typically varies aircraft deployments between the Airbus A319s, A320s, and A321s. On July thirtieth, a 12-year-old Airbus A320-200 registered G-EJCI was operating the flight.
Scheduled to depart from Toulouse Airport at around 17:15, the flight was significantly delayed and only took off at around 19:01. Based on FlightRadar24.com, the Airbus narrowbody lined up on Toulouse Airport’s runway 32R via taxiway N4. It commenced take-off from there before landing uneventfully at London Gatwick at 19:44.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
What went mistaken?
Despite a routinely performed flight, the airline has come under scrutiny following a security report that stated the aircraft took off from the mistaken intersection. This implies the easyJet flight mustn’t have commenced take-off on runway 32R via taxiway N4. This approach meant the aircraft had 1,250 meters less runway than the airport’s safety requirements dictate.
The French BEA opened an investigation on August tenth under file number BEA2023-0340. Based on the case summary, the opening of the study was based on the notification and preliminary data fed in from the UK’s AAIB – which had opened an inquiry first.
While it was not revealed what the proper intersection must have been, the likelihood was probably either taxiway intersection N2 or N1. Although the error didn’t cause any damage or injury, the BEA and the AAIB classified it as a serious incident.
What’s going to occur next?
While the investigations proceed, the BEA emphasizes that the first objective of the inquiry was to enhance aviation safety and has no intentions of pointing fingers. Meaning the likely outcomes will probably be reviews and proposals on what might have been done to avoid or reduce the probabilities of future occurrences.
Alternatively, easyJet has reaffirmed that it takes the incident seriously, with the low-cost carrier highlighting it was fully cooperating with the investigations. As to what may occur to the pilots – apart from the indisputable fact that they were likely taken off duty through the course of this investigation, stays uncertain since this incident resulted primarily from human errors.
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