Tiếng Việt
普通话
The Ministry of Transport on December 25 launched a probe into Vietjet’s latest incident, where one of its planes landed on an unauthorized runway at Cam Ranh International Airport in the south-central coastal province of Khanh Hoa earlier that day.
The ministry said in an urgent release that the plane carrying 163 passengers took off at 11:14 a.m. from Cam Ranh Airport, bound for Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCMC.
A few minutes after takeoff, a technical alarm forced the captain to return to Cam Ranh Airport. However, the pilot made the landing on the wrong runway.
Weather conditions were optimal, and all systems were fully functional during the landing, according to the CAAV.
No passenger or crew member was hurt during the incident. Another flight was arranged for all passengers to continue their journey.
The ministry deemed the incident a serious aviation safety threat, second only to aviation accidents in Vietnam’s classification of errors.
The CAAV was asked to assemble an investigation team to determine the cause of the incident. The authority also suspended the flight crew pending further investigation.
Furthermore, the budget airline was not allowed to raise the frequency of its flights to the country’s major airports – Noi Bai in Hanoi, Cam Ranh, Danang and Tan Son Nhat.
Cam Ranh has two runways, only one of which is active. Construction of the other has been completed, but it is not yet operational.
Vietnam currently requires markings specifically for runways that are in use. No markings are needed for those still under construction.
Following a similar landing incident by Vietnam Airlines in May at the same airport, the CAAV has suggested changes to regulations to prevent similar incidents in the future, including the marking of unused runways.
The landing mishap marks the second consecutive incident involving Vietjet Air. Just one day prior, a Vietjet plane en route from South Korea’s Incheon International Airport to HCMC made an emergency landing at a Taiwan-based airport for technical inspection due to a fire warning in its cargo hold, which was later found to be a false alarm.
In late November, a Vietjet flight leaving HCMC for Buon Ma Thuot in the Central Highlands province of Daklak, with 207 passengers on board, made a crash landing at Buon Ma Thuot Airport. The nose landing gear of the aircraft had lost its two front wheels during the landing. The incident prompted an emergency evacuation which left six passengers injured.