A major aviation disaster was narrowly averted at Munich International Airport in Germany on August 15 when a Hanoi bound Vietnam Airlines flight suffered a severe tail strike during departure. Operating as Flight VN-34, the Boeing 787-9 aircraft's rear fuselage scraped against the tarmac upon takeoff, forcing the flight crew to enter a holding pattern and dump fuel over the German city for nearly two hours before making a safe emergency landing.
Two Hours in the Air to Dump Excess Fuel
Following the tail strike during takeoff, the wide-body airliner climbed to an altitude of approximately 9,000 feet. To reduce the aircraft's weight to a safe limit for landing, the pilots spent nearly two hours executing flight loops over Munich while jettisoning fuel into the atmosphere. The physical impact during takeoff caused structural damage to the rear underside section of the fuselage.
All 271 Passengers and 16 Crew Members Unharmed
The scheduled long-haul journey to Hanoi had departed Munich at approximately 1:45 PM local time. According to Vietnamese state media, the flight was carrying 271 passengers alongside 16 crew members, all of whom escaped injury and disembarked safely upon returning to Munich. Vietnam Airlines initially attributed the sudden return to an unspecified technical fault before details of the tail strike emerged.
Viral Footage Captures Runway Impact
The moment of the incident was captured in a video shared on X, showing the Boeing 787 accelerating down the departure lane. As the nose pitched upward, a loud scraping sound echoed across the airfield as the tail struck the pavement. A large plume of dust and debris billowed behind the jet as it lifted into the sky.
North Runway Closure Causes Flight Delays
Although Flight VN-34 originally departed from the airport's South Runway, it executed its emergency landing on the North Runway. Airport authorities subsequently closed the North Runway for safety inspections and operational clearance, which disrupted overall air traffic and caused delays for numerous connecting flights across Munich Airport.
