Germany’s BFU has released new findings on the Munich incident involving a Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787-9, confirming that the aircraft lifted off late on Saturday, its tail struck the runway during rotation and tyre marks matching the jet were found at the end of runway 26L. The aircraft later returned to Munich and landed on runway 26R after fuel dumping, with all passengers and crew unharmed.
The investigation remains open and the technical trigger for the insufficient acceleration has not been established. The BFU is examining the flight recorders in Braunschweig, with authorities from Vietnam and the United States involved in the process. Investigators are still assessing human, technical and organisational factors as they work to reconstruct the departure sequence and determine why the long-haul aircraft did not achieve a normal take-off profile.
The case is being treated as a serious near-accident. Its focus is prevention rather than blame or liability, and the BFU has not yet reached a conclusion on causation. The incident highlights the risks of runway excursions and tailstrikes during heavy departure operations, especially on long-haul flights where recorder analysis and coordination between multiple national authorities are central to the inquiry.