France’s BEA has reenacted a night flight with French air navigation services, Nice airport operator and easyJet to examine how runway lighting influenced the January near miss at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport involving a Nouvelair Airbus A320-200 and an easyJet A320-200. The investigation centres on the moment the Nouvelair aircraft, cleared to land on runway 04L, flew very close over the easyJet jet stopped on runway 04R.
The exercise used January conditions to assess how runway lighting was perceived and how it may have contributed to the crew’s understanding of the airfield layout. Investigators also reviewed aerodrome-lighting rules, the use of A-SMGCS surface movement guidance, and earlier runway-confusion events at Nice.
STAC analysis formed part of the work, alongside checks of weather data, flight recorders, airport ATC systems and radiocommunications. The BEA has indicated that the information gathered now helps define the sequence of the serious incident and could support future safety recommendations or safety messages, but the probe remains open and conclusions may still change.