HANOI (VNExpress/Vietnam News): Vietnam Airlines on Saturday (June 28) has suspended four pilots after two of its planes collided at Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport on Friday.
The incident occurred at around 2pm on Friday when a Boeing 787 was taxiing for takeoff to Ho Chi Minh City.
As it moved through the intersection of taxiways S3 and S, its right wingtip struck the vertical stabilizer of an Airbus A321 that was waiting to depart for Dien Bien.
The Boeing’s wingtip was damaged, while the Airbus sustained a tear in its tail fin. Both aircraft were immediately grounded for technical inspections and replacement planes were arranged to transport over 380 affected passengers to their destinations.
In a media statement, Vietnam Airlines said it suspended the four pilots, two from each flight crew, from Friday afternoon pending the results of an internal investigation.
The airline has also set up an independent team to examine the cause of the collision alongside the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).
The CAAV has classified the collision as a level B serious incident, the second highest on the five-tier aviation safety scale, indicating a severe safety breach that forced temporary runway or taxiway closures.
Preliminary findings suggest that the Airbus A321 was not parked at its designated holding point on taxiway S3 at the time of the collision.
Vietnam Airlines said it is fully cooperating with aviation authorities to determine accountability and prevent similar incidents in the future. - VNExpress/Vietnam News
