Two Ryanair planes were “at risk of collision” over Spain this month

Two planes from the Irish airline Ryanair were at risk of colliding during their respective flights close to Pamplona, northern Spain earlier this month. That’s the conclusion of a preliminary report from the Spanish Civil Aviation Accidents and Incidents Investigation Commission, an independent organization linked to the Public Works Ministry that is investigating the circumstances of the incident.

According to the document, this “serious” incident took place on October 2, when a Boeing 737-800 plane traveling from Santiago to Palma de Mallorca, and another identical aircraft heading from Seville to Toulouse, came dangerously close to one another around 30 kilometers from Pamplona.

Once the alarms had sounded, the flight crew corrected their courses and the flights continued without incident

The planes were “on the frequency of the Madrid control center” when the anti-collision alert systems on both planes sounded.

According to the commission, the planes were around four kilometers apart horizontally, and just 122 meters apart vertically. Once the alarms had sounded, the flight crew corrected their courses and the flights continued without incident.

On July 14, a Ryanair plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Germany after losing pressure during the flight. The plane, which was traveling from Dublin to the Croatian city of Zadar, with 189 passengers on board, dropped from 12,000 meters of altitude to 3,000 meters.

English version by Simon Hunter.