Description

On 11 September 2019, a Boeing 737-800 (EI-DYR) being operated by Ryanair on an international passenger flight from Hamburg to Malaga as FR1458 with 185 persons on board touched down on runway 13 at destination in night VMC before a second Boeing 737-800 (EI-ENH) which was also being operated by Ryanair and on an international passenger flight from Malaga to Liverpool as FR 9893 with 196 persons on board had become airborne from the same runway. The minimum distance between the two aircraft was subsequently found to have been 520 metres. 

Investigation

A Serious Incident Investigation was carried out by the Spanish Commission for the Investigation of Accidents and Incidents (CIAIAC). The elapsed time between the date of the event and the date on which it was reported to the Commission meant that it was no longer possible to retrieve relevant data from either the FDR or the CVR of either of the aircraft involved. However, relevant data was available from the QARs of both aircraft as were recordings of all relevant ATC communications with both aircraft although intercommunication between the TWR and GND controllers was conducted by word of mouth and not recorded. Aircraft relative positions during the reduced separation were retrieved from ‘SATCA’, the automated air traffic control system, which also enabled synchronisation of the QAR data from both aircraft.