A collision risk arose when two passenger planes were flying at the same altitude facing each other over the Atlantic Ocean west of the Canary Islands.
Medianews.az reports that this information was released by the publication "Bild".
Although the incident occurred on July 10, the information was only released now. The "Airbus A321" plane belonging to the "Iberia" airline flew from Recife, Brazil, to Madrid, and the "Boeing 787" plane of the "Air Europa" airline flew from Madrid to São Paulo, Brazil. Both planes were approximately at an altitude of 11,000 meters.
At a certain moment, the TCAS warning system, which prevents collisions in the cabins of both planes, was activated. The system ordered the crew of the "Iberia" plane to reduce altitude and the pilots of the "Air Europa" plane to climb. The "Airbus A321" descended about 150 meters, while the "Boeing 787" ascended about 120 meters. After this, the collision risk was eliminated.
Both planes continued their flights and landed safely at the Madrid and São Paulo airports, respectively.
Spain's Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission has started an investigation regarding the incident. The commission must determine how two passenger planes were moving on the same air route, at the same altitude, and in opposite directions.