Posted on 08/20/2026 8:42:00 AM PDT by DFG
A passenger plane carrying nearly 300 people struck its tail as it took off from Munich airport in an incident that was described as a 'near disaster'.
Footage showed the tumultuous departure of the Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787 on Saturday.
A cloud of dust was thrown into the air as the tail hit the ground. Inside the cabin, a loud scraping noise was heard as the plane, which was carrying 271 passengers and 16 crew, lifted off the runway.
The 250-ton plane skidded across grass, hit light posts and soared towards trees as the crew – made up of three pilots and one less experienced first officer – desperately pulled its nose up into the air.
No one onboard the Hanoi-bound plane was hurt, but aviation experts said the episode could have ended in disaster.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), the pilots reported that the aircraft, whose registration is VN-A867, stopped accelerating for about two seconds while halfway down Munich Airport's 26L runway.
AeroTime, an aviation news organisation, reported that the 787 then began accelerating again, reaching V1 – the maximum speed during take off where a pilot can safely abort and stop a plane on the runway.
But with too little runway left, the pilots continued to accelerate. The pilots only had about 300ft of runway when they lifted the plane's nose to fly into the sky.
Photos and videos show long skid marks towards the end of the runway, indicating there may have been some late braking. So far, officials have not yet determined that a crew or brake malfunction happened.
But Germany's Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation said that the tyre marks were linked to the Boeing aircraft.
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Ten bucks says that they’ll try to blame it on Boeing...sending its stock down 20%.
Ten bucks says that they’ll try to blame it on Boeing...sending its stock down 20%.
It’s gotten to the point where I am ready to blame DEI for almost every disaster, either on the operator or the manufacturing end.
Aviation Ping!............We really drag our tails for you!..................
Third World airlines often hire Western pilots...I know that Emirates does.
That’ll buff right out!..................
Skidmarks on the runway. Skidmarks on the pilots’ and passengers’ undershorts.
Vietnam Airlines serviced by Vietnam Airlines employees.....
That would likely be when the brakes were applied - and the tires shredded two seconds later.
3 pilots tried to lift it......
??
Wut? Flying by committee? After the pilot the co-pilot is in command. What the ‘Ell are three other jokers doing?
“aviation experts said the episode could have ended in disaster”
What would we ever do without experts?
I always think of the San Fran accident when a tail hits. Thankfully, this recent incident was much less serious. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiana_Airlines_Flight_214
That tail-strike hole...looks like it has a chunk of tire embedded in it. Weird sequence of events — tires blew, tire rubber wedged under the tail, then tail strike?
Yup. This is pure pilot error but who reads the story, just the headline..It has nothing to do with Boeing but the sensationalism drives the headline.
“Ten bucks says that they’ll try to blame it on Boeing...sending its stock down 20%.”
If they do it will be a maintenance mistake that anyone could have done. They are running out of “pilot error” cliches.
wy69
Willing to bet they skipped takeoff checklist items and did not drop leading edge nor flaps thus increasing take-off roll.
A likely scenario is weight or CG mismanagement or miscalculation of takeoff thrust.
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