Vietnam’s civil aviation authorities are examining a takeoff anomaly involving a Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787-9 that briefly lost speed during the departure roll from Munich to Hanoi before the crew continued and the aircraft later returned for inspection. The incident on 15 August led to a tail strike and tyre damage, but all 271 passengers and 16 crew escaped injury.
The preliminary findings point to a problem that began during acceleration on runway 26L, when the crew reported about two seconds of reduced speed. With too little runway remaining to stop safely, the pilots continued the takeoff. The aircraft climbed away, but the sequence ended in a safe return to Munich after fuel was dumped and the jet was checked on the ground.
The case now centres on whether the event stemmed from an operational issue, a technical fault, or a combination of both. Four of the aircraft’s eight tyres were reported damaged or deflated, and investigators in Vietnam and Germany are still working to establish the cause.