Boeing plane hits Airbus sparking travel chaos and pilot suspensions | World | News
A shocking airport incident where a jet clipped the tail of another aircraft has led to the suspension of four pilots. The incident took place on Friday afternoon (June 27) in Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, when a Boeing and an Airbus plane collided at Noi Bai International Airport.
The Boeing 787 was taxiing for takeoff for a flight from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City when its right wingtip struck part of the tail of the Airbus A321, which was also preparing to depart for Dien Bien, Vietnam. Both planes are operated by Vietnam Airlines. Damage was inflicted on the Airbus’ tail as well as the Boeing’s wingtip. Both aircraft were grounded for technical inspections, while alternative planes were organised for the stranded passengers.
At the time of the incident, a total of 380 passengers were onboard the two flights. Vietnam Airlines suspended two pilots from each flight and established an independent team to investigate the cause of the incident alongside the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), according to VN Express.
The CAAV classified the incident as a ‘Level B’ incident, the second most serious on their five-tier scale, indicating a severe breach of safety that resulted in a temporary runway or taxiway closure, reports The Mirror.
Preliminary findings suggest that the Airbus was not at its designated point on the taxiway when the collision occurred.
In a tragic turn of events earlier this month, over 270 lives were lost in India when a London-bound plane collided with a medical college hostel soon after taking off from the northwestern city of Ahmedabad. The catastrophic incident resulted in the deaths of 241 passengers aboard the aircraft and claimed the lives of at least 29 individuals on the ground; only one individual survived the crash.
Following this disaster, India’s flag carrier declared that alternative travel arrangements were made to transport those affected to their destinations as swiftly as possible.
The British man who miraculously lived through the ordeal expressed his shock at surviving, while also grieving for his brother, who perished in the accident. Recounting his experience to The Sun, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh said: “It’s a miracle I survived. I am OK physically but I feel terrible that I could not save Ajay.”
Sitting next to an emergency exit in seat 11A, Mr Ramesh reflected on the heartbreaking loss of his brother: “If we had been sat together we both might have survived.”
He shared the distressing details of how they were separated: “I tried to get two seats together but someone had already got one. Me and Ajay would have been sitting together. But I lost my brother in front of my eyes. So now I am constantly thinking ‘Why can’t I save my brother?'”.
