AN easyJet plane took off from Scotland's busiest airport just two seconds before a Norwegian flight landed on the same runway, an accident investigation report has revealed.

The Norwegian Boeing 737 from the US was given clearance to land at Edinburgh Airport even though the easyJet Airbus A320, bound for Luton, was still on the runway.

An air accident investigation branch (AAIB) report described it as a “runway incursion”, adding: “The 737 was over the runway surface when the A320 was still on its takeoff roll.”

The incident happened while a trainee air traffic controller was being supervised.

An air navigation service review has included examining on-the-job training instructor competency and resulted in the introduction of refresher training.

It also led to the introduction of higher chairs so instructors have a better view of the trainee, the screens and the interactions with the equipment. 

The rules state: “A landing aircraft shall not be permitted to cross the beginning of the runway on its final approach until a preceding aircraft, departing from the same runway, is airborne.”

The report said there had been a "loss of separation between the aircraft at a critical phase of flight" between the Norwegian Boeing 737 which was at the end of a transatlantic flight from New York and the EasyJet Airbus A320 which was about to take off.

The incident happened at 9:48am on August 13, last year.

READ MORE: Edinburgh Airport posts further passenger growth 

The Norwegian crew were told to maintain a speed of at least 160 knots on the approach, rather than a specific speed.

As a result, the Boeing approached faster than normal.

The report says: ”A combination of factors, including brief delays to the departure of the A320 and the speed of the Boeing 737 being higher than normal, led to the reduction in separation before the controllers became aware of the closeness of the aircraft.

“The trainee controller lacked the experience to resolve the situation in a timely manner and the supervising On-The-Job Training Instructor judged it safer to let the 737 land than to initiate a go-around in proximity to the departing aircraft."

The Herald:

The incident report stated the Norwegian pilots had seen the EasyJet aircraft and checked with air traffic control (ATC) when they were just under a mile from the runway whether they should abort the landing.

It said: "When they received an instruction to continue their approach, they interpreted this to mean that ATC were fully in control and they followed the instruction accordingly while continuing to monitor the situation.

The report said the trainee controller heard the call made by the Norwegian plane over whether to "go around" rather than land, "but did not hear what they said and so turned to the training instructor who advised to respond in the negative.

The trainee controller transmitted "negative" and "continue approach"to the Norwegian flight crew.

The AAIB said the training instructor became aware of the situation a few seconds before the time that Norwegian crew called.

A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said: “Safety is absolutely paramount in our operations, a priority shared by ANS, and we have discussed this incident in depth with them.

"We are satisfied the remedial measures put in place are robust and continue to regard safety as the number one priority.”

A Norwegian spokesperson said: “Our flight crews are trained to the highest standards and the safety and security of our customers remains our number one priority.

"The AAIB report concluded that a number of factors led to the loss of separation between aircraft and as such the air navigation service provider has taken necessary steps to mitigate this event occurring again, at no time were Norwegian’s procedures questioned or the safety of our passengers compromised.”

An EasyJet spokesperson said: “easyJet is aware of the report and fully assisted the AAIB with its investigation.

"The safety of our passengers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority.”