Four pilots have been suspended after a plane sliced the tail of another aircraft at an airport in Vietnam whilst taxiing to the runway, leaving passengers in a state of shock.
The incident occurred at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Friday, when the tail of an Airbus A321 was sliced by a taxiing Boeing 787 that was ready to take off to Ho Chi Minh City.
As the Boeing plane started to taxi, its right wingtip hit part of the Airbus’ tail, which was waiting to depart to Dien Bien.
Footage of the incident, which appeared to have been taken from a passenger window, shows the tip of the Boeing wing slash through the tail of the stationary Airbus, jolting the aircraft and sending debris onto the taxiway.
Due to the damage caused to the tail and wingtip of both planes, the aircraft were grounded so inspections could take place.
The planes involved were operated by Vietnam Airlines, which organised replacement planes for both flights.
A total of 380 passengers were onboard the two flights at the time of the incident, but no one was injured.
Vietnam Airlines suspended two pilots from each flight, and has set up an independent investigation team to seek the cause of the incident with the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, The Mirror reported.
Earlier this year, an aircraft’s wingtip hit another plane on the runway at Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport, while three members of US Congress were on board.
The incident occurred in April when an American Airlines flight struck another plane from the same airline, causing damage to the winglets of each aircraft.
Both aircraft were taken out of service to be inspected, the airline said.
Federal officials started an investigation in May when two planes got dangerously close to one another on a runway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
A Republic Airways jet had to abort its takeoff because a United Airlines plane was still taxiing across the runway.
In audio from the tower, air traffic control said to the pilot of the Republic Airways jet: “Sorry, I thought United had cleared well before that.”
At the time the controller was directing the Republic Airways jet to take off, a ground controller on a different radio frequency was directing the United plane to a new taxiway after it missed the first one it was supposed to use to exit the runway.
The Independent has contacted Vietnam Airlines for comment.
