According to The Independent, the official investigation by Spain’s civil aviation authority revealed an air traffic controller had given one Ryanair flight permission to land on a runway from which another Ryanair aircraft had been given permission to take off.
The distance between the two Boeing 737s was reportedly 520 metres at its closest, less than a quarter of the minimum recommended safety margin of the length of a runway (3,200 metres).
"There was no degree of assurance that the regulatory separation could be maintained, as the aircraft on approach was travelling faster than the aircraft on take-off, increasingly reducing the separation between the aircraft," the official report stated.
The incident occurred on 11 September 2019 at 7.50pm, with nearly 400 passengers aboard the two aircraft.
