Vietnam suspends foreign pilots of Vietjet plane in troubled landing

By Doan Loan December 2, 2018 | 03:03 am PT

A compilation photo of the Vietjet aircraft (R) that had problem upon landing at Buon Ma Thuot Airport on Thursday night and the plane's steering rod without the nose wheels.

Two foreign pilots of the Vietjet plane whose nose wheels flew off as it landed have been suspended pending investigations.

The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) said Sunday that it has confiscated the pilot licenses of a Filipino pilot and his Spanish co-pilot while investigating the incident.

Vietjet Air, for its part, said that it has suspended the two pilots, but did not reveal their names.

Starting Monday, a CAAV investigation team and Airbus specialists will decode the black box of the Airbus A321 which the budget carrier Vietjet received from the France-based Airbus two weeks ago.

French investigation authorities will oversee the process.

The Ministry of Transport has ordered CAAV to quickly investigate and check other planes to prevent similar issues.

The nose wheels of Flight VJ356 flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Buon Ma Thuot Airport in the Central Highlands flew off while landing last Thursday evening, injuring six passengers.

207 passengers on board had to leave all their baggage behind and escape the plane through emergency doors.

Authorities found one wheel in the airport on Friday and the second on Sunday morning.

One nose wheel of the Vietjet aircraft has been found on November 30. Photo by VnExpress/Anh Duy

The Buon Ma Thuot airport reopened on 12 p.m. last Friday.

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.