Anatomy of a Near-Miss: The Nice Airport Runway Incident

On the evening of September 21, 2025, the world of commercial aviation came within a few feet of a major catastrophe. At Nice Côte d’Azur Airport in France, a Nouvelair Airbus A320, arriving from Tunis, nearly collided with an easyJet Airbus A320 preparing for departure. The incident involved a runway confusion that led to the inbound aircraft flying directly over the stationary plane with a vertical separation that shrank to a mere 10 feet. With a combined total of 346 passengers and crew members on board the two aircraft, the event has become a critical case study for aviation safety regulators.

The French Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses (BEA), the agency responsible for investigating aviation accidents and incidents, immediately launched a full-scale inquiry. Their preliminary report has provided a chilling, second-by-second account of the event, shedding light on a chain of contributing factors rather than a single point of failure. Such near-misses, while rare, are invaluable learning opportunities. They force us to re-examine airport procedures, technological reliances, and the complex interplay of human factors that define modern air travel. Understanding what went wrong is the only way to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

This incident wasn’t just a close call; it was a stark reminder of the razor-thin margins that keep our skies safe. The preliminary findings point towards a confluence of issues, including significant disparities in runway lighting, deteriorating weather conditions, and the unavailability of key navigational aids. As we break down the sequence of events and the factors at play, we gain a clearer picture of the challenges faced by flight crews and air traffic controllers in high-pressure environments.

A Breakdown of the Incident

The events of that night unfolded rapidly, turning a routine arrival and departure into a serious incident. The two aircraft involved were Nouvelair flight TS-INP, an Airbus A320 carrying 176 passengers and 8 crew from Tunis, and easyJet flight OE-IJZ, also an Airbus A320, with 170 passengers and 8 crew members, preparing to depart for Nantes. The incident occurred around 21:30 local time, under the cover of darkness and in worsening weather.

The Approach and Runway Confusion

The flight plan for the Nouvelair A320 was straightforward. Air Traffic Control (ATC) had cleared the crew to land on runway 04L. The crew correctly read back this instruction multiple times, confirming their clearance. However, their aircraft did not align with runway 04L. Instead, it lined up for an approach to the parallel runway, 04R, where the easyJet aircraft was holding its position, awaiting clearance for takeoff.

This critical error in alignment went uncorrected as the aircraft continued its descent. The easyJet crew, positioned on runway 04R, reportedly noticed the approaching aircraft’s lights but did not immediately recognize the imminent conflict. The situation escalated in a matter of seconds as the Nouvelair A320 descended directly towards the occupied runway, completely unaware of the aircraft sitting on the tarmac below.

The climax of the incident was the overflight itself. The BEA’s preliminary data revealed that the radio altitude of the Nouvelair A320 dropped from 39 feet to just 10 feet as it passed over the easyJet A320’s fuselage and tail. This is an incredibly small margin, representing a near-collision of the most serious kind. The Nouvelair crew, likely realizing their error at the last moment, initiated a go-around, but only after having already flown directly over the other plane.

The Role of Air Traffic Control

In the control tower, the situation was also developing at a pace that challenged human and automated systems. The tower controller had issued the correct landing clearance for runway 04L and had no reason to believe the Nouvelair crew was not complying. However, the airport was equipped with an automated runway incursion alert system, which did its job.

This system triggered an alarm in the control tower 42 seconds before the Nouvelair aircraft flew over the easyJet plane, indicating a potential conflict. Despite this advance warning, the controller’s intervention came critically late. A go-around command was issued to the Nouvelair crew, but it was transmitted two seconds after the overflight had already occurred. This highlights the speed at which a runway confusion incident can devolve into a near-catastrophe, sometimes outpacing the reaction time of even highly trained personnel.

Investigating the ‘Why’: Contributing Factors

The BEA’s preliminary report moves beyond the “what” to explore the “why.” The investigation is focused on understanding the conditions and circumstances that could lead a professional flight crew to make such a critical navigational error. The findings suggest that this was not a simple case of pilot error but rather the result of several latent conditions creating a trap for the flight crew.

Environmental and Technical Challenges

The weather on the night of September 21 was a significant factor. The crews were operating in moderate rain showers with reduced visibility. To navigate around convective clouds, the Nouvelair crew had requested a shortened approach, known as an RNP A 04L procedure. This non-standard approach, while safe, would have increased the crew’s workload during a critical phase of flight.

A crucial piece of the puzzle, as highlighted by the BEA, is the stark difference in the lighting systems for the two parallel runways. Runway 04R, the takeoff runway that the Nouvelair plane mistakenly approached, was equipped with modern, “much brighter” LED bulbs. In contrast, the correct landing runway, 04L, used older, dimmer halogen bulbs. In low visibility conditions, this disparity could create a powerful visual illusion, drawing the pilots’ attention towards the brighter, more conspicuous runway.

The BEA report notes that the lights for runway 04R (take-off runway) are “much brighter” than those for runway 04L (landing runway).

Compounding these issues was the status of the navigational aids for runway 04L. The Instrument Landing System (ILS) glideslope, which provides vertical guidance for an automated landing, was out of service. This information had been published in a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen), so the crew was aware of it. However, its unavailability meant a fully automated instrument landing was not possible, forcing the crew to rely more heavily on visual cues, cues that may have been misleading due to the lighting disparity and poor weather.

Human Factors and Procedural Questions

While technical and environmental factors set the stage, human factors are central to understanding the crew’s actions. Despite correctly acknowledging the clearance for runway 04L, the Nouvelair crew proceeded to align with 04R. This type of error can be linked to cognitive phenomena such as confirmation bias, where individuals unconsciously look for cues that confirm their existing mental model, even if that model is incorrect. The brighter lights of 04R may have created a powerful initial impression that was difficult to overcome.

The incident also raises broader questions about airport procedures. The use of a specific type of visual approach, known as a VPT-type, at night and in deteriorating weather at an airport with closely spaced parallel runways is now under scrutiny. These procedures demand a high level of situational awareness from flight crews, and the combination of factors on this particular night may have overloaded the crew’s cognitive capacity.

In response to the gravity of the incident, the French Air Navigation Service Provider (DSNA) has already taken action. It has suspended the use of this specific visual approach procedure at night when both parallel runways are in use. This immediate safety measure is designed to prevent a recurrence while the BEA continues its in-depth investigation to formulate long-term recommendations.

Aftermath and Future Implications for Aviation Safety

The near-miss at Nice Airport serves as a powerful reminder that aviation safety is a continuously evolving process. The key takeaways from the preliminary report highlight a dangerous alignment of factors: a runway confusion likely induced by a significant lighting disparity, complicated by poor weather, a non-standard approach, and the unavailability of a key navigational aid. The fact that two modern airliners came within 10 feet of each other underscores the importance of investigating not just accidents, but serious incidents as well.

The ongoing BEA investigation will be critical. The final report will analyze flight data recorders, cockpit voice recorders, and further testimony to provide a complete picture and issue formal safety recommendations. These recommendations will likely address runway lighting standards, procedures for visual approaches at night in complex airspace, and air traffic control protocols. The lessons learned from this chilling event over the French Riviera will undoubtedly influence aviation practices globally, reinforcing the systems and procedures that keep millions of passengers safe every day.

FAQ

Question: What was the closest distance between the two aircraft?
Answer: According to the preliminary report from the French BEA, the Nouvelair A320 flew over the easyJet A320 with a vertical separation that dropped from 39 feet to as low as 10 feet.

Question: Why did the Nouvelair pilots approach the wrong runway?
Answer: The full investigation is still ongoing. However, the BEA’s preliminary findings point to several contributing factors, including a significant disparity in the brightness of the two parallel runways, deteriorating weather conditions, and the unavailability of the ILS glideslope for the correct runway, which increased reliance on visual cues.

Question: What immediate safety actions have been taken since the incident?
Answer: The French Air Navigation Service Provider (DSNA) has suspended the use of the specific type of visual approach (VPT-type) that was in use during the incident. This suspension applies at night when both parallel runways at Nice Airport are active.

Sources: BEA Preliminary Report