Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787 Overruns Runway at Munich Airport

A Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787-9 aircraft, flight VN34, overran the runway end during takeoff at Munich Airport on August 15. The plane, registered VN-A867, was headed to Hanoi but returned to the airport after departing due to a technical issue.

Preliminary information suggests that the crew initiated rotation extremely late, causing the aircraft to pass beyond the end of runway 26L and become airborne only after leaving the paved surface. Video footage shows large clouds of dust rising behind the plane as it finally began to climb.

The aircraft continued accelerating along almost the entire length of the runway before taking off, damaging its landing gear in the process. After departure, the crew climbed to approximately 10,000 feet and reported a tyre-pressure indication.

The Boeing 787 then remained airborne over Bavaria for around 90 minutes to reduce its landing weight before returning to Munich. Upon landing on runway 26R, smoke was observed coming from the area of the left main landing gear, causing the aircraft to become disabled.