Edinburgh EasyJet flight came close to crashing into Lake Geneva in horrifying close call

An EasyJet flight from Edinburgh Airport nearly crashed into Lake Geneva after dropping to a dangerously-low altitude.

An interim report by Swiss investigators has found air-traffic controllers narrowly avoided a tragedy by urging the plane's crew to 'check your altitude immediately'. Local newspaper 24 Heures told how the Airbus A320 Neo, which had 157 passengers on board, was at just 750 feet from the surface of the water while still 7.5 miles from runway 22 at Geneva Cointrin Airport, where it was due to land on November 5 last year.

It ought to have been three times higher at that point in its descent. The Swiss Safety Investigation Service (SESE) said: "During the approach to runway 22, the aircraft descended significantly below the glideslope and the flight crew initiated a go-around."

The pilots involved, who averted disaster by accelerating rapidly and looping over the French commune of Thonon-les-Bains, were placed on leave but have since resumed flying duties. A reason for the near-miss has not yet been specified with a full report still to come from Swiss authorities, the Daily Mail reports.

According to the report, the plane would have plunged into the water within 30 seconds had it followed its trajectory. One expert told the newspaper Blick the incident could have been down to a 'shortcut' route the pilots were told to follow which took them between the municipalities of Gland and Rolle and forced them to drop altitude after the Jura mountains.

Meanwhile, an Airbus A320 pilot who often flies into Geneva told 24 Heures: "In a situation like this you shouldn't think: 'you just accelerate again in order to regain altitude as quickly as possible." Casting further doubt on the cause of the incident, he added: "I don't know what happened in the cockpit that day, but that must be where the key to the explanation lies."

An EasyJet spokeswoman said: "We are fully supporting the investigation in line with procedures. At no point was the safety of those onboard compromised. The safety and wellbeing of passengers and crew is always easyJet's highest priority."