Vietnamese plane lands at wrong airport 62 miles away
comments
We've all done it at some point – taken a wrong turn at a roundabout and ended up in entirely the wrong place. Or put too much faith in the car sat-nav, and found ourselves many miles from our planned destination, wondering how we could have been so stupid.
Under investigation: VietJet Air managed to land at an airport 62 miles from its destination
But then, few of us are airline pilots flying in the competitive south-east Asian market.
And few of us have done what the crew of a Vietnamese Airbus A320 did earlier this week – and landed at the wrong airport, over 60 miles from where we should have been.
All staff who were on Flight VJ8861 – operated by budget carrier VietJet Air – have been suspended after the aircraft touched down at Cam Ranh airport, near Nha Trang City – a popular holiday resort on Vietnam's east coast.
The incident happened on 19 June, but the full story of what went wrong is yet to emerge.
The plane was scheduled to land at Lien Khuong Airport, near Da Lat City, which sits a full 62 miles west of Nha Trang – and nowhere near the sea – in Vietnam's Central Highlands.
Here's where you went wrong: Jet landed in Nha Trang (B) when it should have been in Da Lat (A)
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has taken swift action against the flight crew, pending an investigation.
The regulator says that its preliminary findings reveal a 'serious incident… posing [a] threat to aviation safety.'
The CAAV also says that, according to its early research, crew, pilots and ground staff failed to follow proper procedures.
It adds that 'appropriate measures' will be taken against the airline once the investigation is complete.
Vietjet Air has not yet explained how the plane came to arrive at the wrong airport.
The aircraft was carrying 180 passengers – all of whom had to be transferred on a second flight.
It's good, but it's not right: Nha Trang is a popular holiday hotspot - but it was not the plane's destination
VietJet Air launched in 2011, and has thrived in the crowded skies over south-east Asia, taking 25 per cent of the Vietnamese domestic aviation market.
Until this incident, it had an unblemished safety record – although it was reprimanded by the CAAV in 2012 for staging an on-board Hawaiian-themed dance, performed by beauty-pageant contestants, without clearing the event with the safety body.
Book your travel
Put the internet to work for you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment