Using the wrong word on July 20, 2020 almost caused a disaster at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. Fortunately, nothing happened, but the French accident investigation authority sharply criticized the processes in their report.

At this point in time, runway 09R was used for take-offs while landings on 09L took place. The pilots of a United Airlines Boeing 787 arriving from New York-Newark were instructed to land on 09R. The crew confirmed the instruction with the words "understand" and "sidestep for 9 right".

Shortly afterwards, the responsible controller instructed an Easyjet Airbus A320 that it should get ready for take-off on runway 09R. The pilots then drew attention to the fact that the United Airlines plane was to land on 09L. A corresponding question was asked and the Dreamliner was just about to land. This was followed by hectic radio communication in which both the controllers and the pilots of the Easyjet aircraft called for immediate abort and go-around. The United crew followed suit immediately.

The distance between the two machines was less than 300 feet, according to the accident report. In addition, a screen in the tower was defective so that the air traffic controller could not see the situation on the runway at all. The investigations showed that the controller was obviously confused because another aircraft had previously requested a landing on 09R because it had technical problems. This slope is longer than 09L.

The reasons are said to have been that the equipment in the tower was inadequate, but also that the controller was “rusty” due to the reduced air traffic. In addition, the crew of the United aircraft used the word “under stand” instead of the usual “confirm”, which may have confused the pilot. Negative is chalked up that he did not go into exactly this circumstance and did not ask any questions.