Good morning from Ho Chi Minh City, and welcome to the latest edition of the Vietnam Weekly. To new readers: everyone gets the same opening section of the newsletter, but only paying subscribers get access to the whole thing, plus the exclusive mid-week articles.
You can upgrade to a paid subscription below.
The Munich Close Call
On Saturday, a Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787-9 departing Munich for Hanoi barely made it off the runway in time, narrowly avoiding disaster.
This link includes two videos: one from a planespotter on the ground showing a plume of dirt kicking up as the plane takes off, while another is from a passenger on board showing the plane speeding down the runway for what feels like an eternity before getting into the air right as the concrete ends and a loud crunching sound is heard.
According to Aviation Week, the plane used the entirety of the airport's lengthy (4,000 meters) runway and still slightly overran it, severely damaging the rear tires and striking the tail on the ground while damaging runway lighting.
The pilots entered a holding pattern to dump fuel while performing two low-level passes so that air traffic controllers could assess external damage. They landed two hours later with all passengers and crew safe, though the plane was badly damaged.
German authorities are investigating the incident, while Vietnam’s Ministry of Construction has demanded an explanation from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam and VNA.
Tuổi Trẻ reported that, according to the pilots, the plane’s speed stopped increasing for about two seconds when they were halfway down the runway. Acceleration resumed, and the plane reached V1, the point at which the crew had to decide whether to continue or abort take-off. They then lost speed again, but it was too late to abort - the pilots got it in the air nonetheless, avoiding what would’ve probably been a deadly crash.
There will be more details as officials examine what exactly happened, though at this point it appears there was no fault with the crew. Photos from the scene showed extensive skid marks on the runway, leading to speculation that the braking system may have been stuck on for part of the takeoff.
Elsewhere in Vietnam’s aviation sector, 17 Airbus A321neo aircraft belonging to various domestic airlines remain out of service due to a global shortage of Pratt & Whitney engines. A recall for these engines was announced in 2024, and a year ago the number of grounded Airbuses here was 23.
The rest of today’s edition, for paid subscribers:
- The Car Crash. The traffic death that has consumed Vietnamese social media, involving a former National Assembly member, discarded flowers at the “Tree of Justice,” and the VTV segment blaming “reactionary” forces.
- The resolved exam scandal. The school that produced 147 perfect math scores retook the test, with zero perfect scores this time around.
Start a free trial, then pay US$6/month or US$60/year.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.