Student pilots took off at same time

Two light aircraft, flown by student pilots, took off at the same time from intersecting runways at Cork Airport last year. Aviation inspectors have described it as “a serious incident”.

A report by the Air Accident Investigation Unit said there was no risk of collision, but there could have been “a more serious outcome”, if the timing of the take-offs had been different.

The incident occurred on May 23, 2017, when a 21-year-old student pilot, from England, on a solo flight in a Cessna 172 light aircraft, took off from the airport’s second runway without clearance.