Vietnam records very rare incident of plane losing altitude

In the traffic safety report for the first 6 months of the year, the National Traffic Safety Committee mentioned a rare aviation incident when a Vietnamese plane flew into an area of turbulence caused by another plane.

According to a source from the Civil Aviation Authority, the incident occurred on May 23, when Vietjet Air flight VN-A814 (A330 aircraft) was on its way from Mumbai (India) to Ho Chi Minh City.

Illustration of Wake turbulence moment (Photo: Greg Bajor).

While flying over the Indian Ocean, the plane suddenly encountered turbulence, shaking and suddenly losing altitude, deviating from its original flight path.

Through verification, at that time flight VN-A814 was at an altitude of 39,000 feet and there was an A380 flying above, in the opposite direction at an altitude of 40,000 feet.

During the crossing, the Vietnamese aircraft experienced "Wake turbulence" - a phenomenon that occurs when a small aircraft encounters turbulent air currents created by a larger aircraft while flying close together.

Air traffic data shows that when the two planes intersected, they were 1,000 feet (304m) apart vertically, meeting the separation distance required by ICAO. After the incident, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam consulted with the aircraft manufacturer and assessed this as a force majeure that occurred during the flight.

According to the head of the Flight Safety Standards Department, Weak Turbulence situations are very rare, if not unprecedented in Vietnam. This incident fortunately did not cause any injuries to the passengers.

Based on the investigation results, the Director of the Civil Aviation Authority has requested airlines and pilots to increase surveillance in case of large aircraft flying in the opposite direction at a distance of about 1,000 feet.

Pilots must be proactive in recognizing the situation and be ready to respond when Wake turbulence causes loss of control of the aircraft.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/viet-nam-ghi-nhan-su-co-may-bay-tut-do-cao-rat-hiem-gap-20240701223624145.htm