Sometimes people taking videos at airports capture some interesting footage. This incident took place at Barcelona El Prat Airport (BCN) on July 5.
Here is the description by Miguel Ángel on YouTube:
On July 5, early in the morning. What you see is what happened.
An UTair Boeing 767-300 (VQ-BSX) incoming from Moscow as (flight) UT5187 and Aerolíneas Argentinas Airbus A340-300 (LV-FPV) were involved into what could be the bigger disaster of Barcelona Airport.
The Utair 767 was about to land on Runway 02 while the Argentinas was crossing the runway.
By the time Russian pilots sighted the Argentinas (they were taxiing to the holding point of runway 25R for takeoff) on the runway while they were on the final approach, they did their best making an impressive and close go around.
After that incidence the plane landed safely on runway 02, and the Argentinas took-off heading to Buenos Aires.
Read the report from the UTair pilots in the Siberian Times: CLICK HERE
Update: Aerolineas Argentinas has now publicly responded to the filmed event:
“Aerolíneas Argentinas clarifies that in the alleged incident at El Prat airport in Barcelona on Saturday July 5, involving an aircraft of the Russian airline UTair and an Aerolíneas Argentinas aircraft, there was no risk at any time.
This has been corroborated by the manager of the Spanish airports operator AENA (Spanish Airports and Air Navigation) who initially reported that “both planes were where they should be.”
Moreover, a spokesman of AENA also said that “the landing of the UTair aircraft could have been done without risk, since both aircraft were in the proper place, with enough distance between them.”
This is consistent with the report made by the captain of the Aerolineas Argentinas aircraft, who said the AR plane followed the instructions of El Prat control tower.
This morning AENA issued a statement that ensures that the “go-around” performed by the Russian aircraft “is a standard procedure, with all the guarantees of safety”.
Thus Aerolineas Argentinas clarifies that the situation recorded by a plane spotter and widely publicized by the media, related to flight AR 1163 on Saturday July 5, did not involve any risk.”
It might be an impressive video and certainly a bone-headed move by the Argentinian pilots (with or without the blessing of the controller), however, it was not a close call. Considering that telephotos have a tendency to compress distances, it seems the planes were somewhere between 1.5 mi and 2 mi apart. Again, potentially dangerous but even KDCA (Washington Reagan National) sees go-arounds that are closer than this.
Thank you Blend. The lens are deceiving, I would agree. I am not sure how close they got. I do not think they were that far apart but unless there is an official announcement, we will never know.
All the best.
Bruce
The UTair looked to be about 150-200 feet off the ground at the time he initiated his go-around. How far from the typical touch-down point would that put him on a normal final approach ?
From http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=167805
“ADS-B data logged by Flightaware24 suggest the B767 had descended to 250 feet before the go around was initiated.
Distance from the runway threshold of runway 02 to the point where the A340 crossed at taxiway Mike is 1166 m (3826 ft).”
Looks like they were at least a mile apart at time of go-around and probably more since the 767 would have been at 250 feet in altitude well before the runway threshold.
Thank you Phil. Good information. I am sure the lens makes it appear to be closer than it actually was. However a telephoto photo by Miguel Alia down the runway sure makes it look closer.
All the best.
Bruce