EasyJet aircraft takes evasive action to avoid crashing into oncoming plane after pilot goes to take off on runway as other jet lands at German airport
- Easyjet plane was heading to Basel-Mulhouse from Hamburg on April 14
- Pilots went to take off around 9pm and began accelerating down runway
- But Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul had just landed and not yet moved away
- Pilots were forced to make an emergency stop so the runway could be cleared
An EasyJet plane was forced to abort take-off at a German airport after accelerating down the runway while another plane was still on it.
The incident happened on April 17 at Hamburg Airport, Germany, as the EasyJet plane prepared to head to Basel-Mulhouse airport around 9pm.
The plane began accelerating down the runway before air traffic controllers noticed that a Turkish Airlines Airbus A321-200 that had just landed from Istanbul was still sitting on the tarmac.
An EasyJet plane taking off from Hamburg airport in Germany was forced to make an emergency stop during take-off because there was another plane on the runway (file image)
Controllers ordered the EasyJet pilots to abort their take-off, and the plane was forced to make an emergency stop.
The EasyJet plane halted 4,265ft away from its Turkish counterpart.
German Air Traffic Control (DFS) confirmed the incident with the EasyJet aeroplane.
A DFS spokeswoman said she could not give any more information as ‘the incident first has to be internally investigated and reviewed’.
An EasyJet spokeswoman confirmed that ‘the captain of easyJet flight EZS1028 from Hamburg to Basel-Mulhouse was asked by air traffic control to abort the take-off as a precautionary measure’.
The spokeswoman said: ‘This was due to another aircraft that had not left the runway according to the rules after air traffic granted clearance for departure.
‘At no time was the safety of the passengers or the crew at risk, and the plane later flew on to Basel-Mulhouse.’
According to local media, the easyJet aeroplane was ordered by air traffic control to remain for a while on a tarmac waiting area before it was allowed to take off to Basel-Mulhouse a short while later.