Passengers terrified as Vietnamese carrier makes emergency landing

By Doan Loan, Huu Cong   November 20, 2018 | 01:49 am PT
Passengers terrified as Vietnamese carrier makes emergency landing
Photo taken by a Vietjet passenger shows other travelers clasp their hands and put their heads on the seat in front as a Vietjet Air flight returns to make an emergency land at Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCMC Monday night.
Panicked passengers screamed and prayed as a Vietjet Air flight made an emergency landing in HCMC Monday night.

Hundreds of passengers on the VJ198 flight panicked, screamed and prayed as their plane circled in the air for around 30 minutes and landed at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport soon after taking off for Hanoi.

The flight departed at 7:05 p.m. and ten minutes after takeoff, alarms rang out in the plane, signaling technical problems. The captain made a quick decision to bring the plane back to Tan Son Nhat for a check, a representative of the budget carrier said Tuesday.

A thorough inspection found the warning signals were fake and there was no technical issue with the plane, a Vietjet representative said. The plane resumed normal operations later.

Another flight was arranged for all passengers to continue their journey. The flight delay for technical checks has affected the airline's flight schedule and inflicted greater expenses but safety is always prioritized, the Vietjet representative said.

However, the social media quickly saw pictures and videos of passengers in panic, screaming in fear and praying with folded hands.

Data retrieved from plane-tracking site Flightradar24 showed the Vietjet aircraft had reached a height of 11,000 feet and lowered at 5,000 feet before touching down at the Tan Son Nhat Airport at 8:06 p.m.

Graphics from Flightradar24 shows the Vietjet aircraft has circled before returning to Tan Son Nhat Airport.

Graphics from Flightradar24 shows the Vietjet aircraft has circled before returning to Tan Son Nhat Airport.

A similar incident took place on October 30 with a Vietjet Air plane heading to Busan in South Korea from Hanoi. The plane had to make emergency landing in Hong Kong to check technical issues. The conclusion was that a wrong warning signal had triggered the incident.

Vietnam's aviation industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years. The country served more than 53 million air passengers in the first half of this year, up 14 percent from a year ago.

 
 
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