An easyJet flight has narrowly avoided a crash with another aircraft at a French airport.
France's transport minister Philippe Tabarot said he had ordered an investigation be launched into the incident, which occurred at Nice-Côte d’Azur Airport on Sunday, September 21.
Passengers on board the easyJet flight to the French city of Nantes reported hearing the sound of an incoming aircraft as the plane was preparing to take off.
The pilots of a Nouvelair jet tried to land at the airport the wrong way, according to The Times.
In a post to X, Mr Tabarot said he had requested the French air accident investigation agency (BEA) investigate the incident.
Yesterday [Sunday]an important incident occurred at Nice-Côte d’Azur airport, where a collision involving two aircraft from Nouvel Air and EasyJet companies was narrowly avoided", he wrote to X.
"I immediately requested that an investigation be opened by the Bureau d’enquêtes et d’analyses (BEA) to shed full light on the precise circumstances of this event."
The easyJet pilot told passengers the aircrafts were just three meters (around 10ft) apart, according to local media.
The incident happened at an airport in Nice, France
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Several people on board the flight were said to have started crying.
Passenger Érard told a local newspaper: "The plane was preparing to take off when we heard a huge engine noise, right next to it."
"We saw the captain leave the cockpit.
"He was crying, his hands were shaking.
A Nouvelair aircraft was also said to be involved in the incident
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"He told us, 'We avoided a crash,' saying it had been a close call by three meters.
"Several people started crying."
The BEA told French media the easyJet plane was ready for takeoff when the Nouvelair plane had "performed a go-around".
It said statements were to be gathered from crews onboard both flights as well as air traffic control.
The BEA declared it a "serious incident".
It added it would be analysing information including the weather as part of the investigation.
An easyJet spokeswoman said: "The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and in line with procedures, we are fully cooperating with the safety investigation that has been launched in order to understand what happened.”
GB News has contacted Nouvelair for comment.