Post by : Meena Ariff

Photo: Reuters

A small accident happened at Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport on June 27 when two Vietnam Airlines planes scraped each other on the taxiway. After this, four pilots were suspended, and both planes were stopped from flying for checks.

According to local news, the accident occurred around 2 p.m. A Boeing 787 was getting ready to take off for Ho Chi Minh City. As it was moving, its right wing tip accidentally hit the tail of an Airbus A321. The Airbus was waiting on a nearby taxiway to fly to Dien Bien.

This happened at the crossing of taxiways S3 and S. The Boeing’s wing tip scratched and damaged the Airbus’ vertical stabilizer (tail fin). The Airbus’ tail was torn, and the Boeing’s wing tip was scuffed up in the scrape.

Thankfully, no passengers or crew were hurt in this accident. However, more than 380 passengers had to be moved to other flights because both planes needed technical inspections before flying again.

Vietnam Airlines said that four pilots – two from each aircraft – were suspended from duty on the same afternoon. The airline also set up an independent investigation team to look into what went wrong. They are working closely with the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) to find out the cause.

The CAAV called this a level B serious event. This is the second-highest level on its five-point safety scale. It means there was a big safety issue that affected airport operations for some time.

Early reports suggest that the Airbus might not have been parked properly at its holding point on the taxiway when the Boeing passed by.

Vietnam Airlines said it is fully cooperating with the authorities. The airline wants to find out who was responsible and ensure that such incidents do not happen again in the future.