Loss of separation?

[markrc]

Perhaps a little ‘tame’ for this thread, but I’ve just stepped off BA826 (LHR-DUB) and approximately 25 minutes before landing we came fairly close to a Ryanair 737. There didn’t appear to be any escape manoeuvre etc etc but having just stepped off my 791st flight (yes, I nerdily track every passenger flight I take), I can say I’ve never seen 2 aircraft get closer in-person. I did get a video and will try and upload / link at some point.

Might someone be able to have a look back on FlightRadar and see what the separation was? The time of the (non) incident was 20:24.

Just keen to know.

[DIBO]

Perfect separation!

textbook 1000ft vertical separation: RYR already in the BABON holding at FL70 / BAW entering the holding at FL80

[DuncanDoenitz]

RYR9XW / EI-EMC at about 19.25 UTC. I'd say about 500 metres horizontally and 1000ft; Ryanair low.

[markrc]

Thanks all. Please see (portrait) video from seat 11A (overwing) below.

I can’t post links as, despite being a forum member for 10+ years, I haven’t posted 8 posts yet. So you’ll need to copy and amend the below into your url bar:

youtube[dotcom]/shorts/mpDud06Ep4I?si=AjMkv9Hoyy-hEy7R

[NudgingSteel]

Looks standard 1000' vertical separation as mentioned by the other posters. It's an interesting visual effect when you, and sometimes the other traffic, is in a bank, making you appear less obviously vertically separated. Some years ago I was on a flight and holding in one of the LHR stacks, when the aircraft holding 1000' above us popped out of cloud nearby. Despite having a few years of radar validation under my belt at that point, I was still slightly startled at just how close the other traffic appeared! I'm very conscious that when I'm working and holding traffic just above or below an A380, the passengers may well be getting a splendid view...

Nice video by the way.

[SpringHeeledJack]

Some years ago I was allowed a jump seat on a flight (B734) out of LHR and within 10mins in the controlled climb we came 'very' close to an A346 that was in the descent and stayed together for maybe 30seconds, we below the A346. I would have sworn that we were perhaps 500ft from another, the various streaks of old dried fluid under the white belly of the A346 visible in great detail ;-). The pilots kindly explained that we were exactly 1000ft away from another (thanks to the skilful weaving of the ATC), BUT the distance was measured from the centre of one fuselage to the other and in this case the longer wingspan of the 346 shortened the actual distance. The captain who had previously flown 747's said that two Jumbos in a stack hold and banking got very close visually, although completely safe and legal.

[pax britanica]

Just to add to the 'nothing to worry about' line Departing LHR on Easterlies in Tristar a Concorde looked much closer at first glance than 1000 feet but when you think that a largish aircraft looks pretty big if you are say on Richmond green when 27L arrivals look pretty big and they are more than 1000 feet away. On another day and SIA 747 just turning to leave the bottom of the hold as we passed underneath looked big but a 74 is big lump even at 1000 ft away . I think it is the sheer size of aircraft that forms this kind of illusion . On the ground at LHR or JFK aircraft away from the terminal dont look especially large because they are framed by other aircraft or huge buildings . However if one was at the end of your road 300m from your house it would appear immense because its so out of scale with surroundings .

Interesting sight tho

[10 DME ARC]

In my early days of ATC a OJTI once highlighted 1000ft vertical separation, the runway was 7650ft(2332m) long he told me to visualise it stood vertically and that 7 aircraft could be stacked 1000ft apart!! Opens one's mind!!