An Airbus A321 plane of national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines had to return to Noi Bai International Airport 20 minutes after take-off on Sunday due to a crack on its cockpit window glass and a dent at its nose, a source of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper said.

The aircraft took off from the airport at 5:16 pm for flight VN 1207 from Hanoi to Can Tho City in the Mekong Delta region, carrying an unreported number of passengers.

When it entered the sky of northern Nam Dinh Province about 20 minutes later, the crew decided to fly back to Hanoi after detecting a crack in the aircraft’s cockpit window and a dent in its nose for unknown reasons.   

At 6:05 pm, the plane landed back at Noi Bai and safely rolled into a parking position.

After an inspection, aircraft mechanics confirmed a crack on part of the cockpit window glass in front of the co-pilot’s seat and a hole with a diameter of about 40cm at the tip of the plane’s nose.

Vietnam Airlines then transferred all the passengers to another Airbus A321 that took off for Can Tho at 7:30 pm on the same day.

A representative of the Northern Airports Authority (NAA) said a probe into the cause of the incident is underway, according to news site VnExpress. 

A similar cockpit window crack was recorded on another Vietnam Airlines plane that touched down at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City at 11:28 pm also on Sunday after departing from Vinh City, the capital of north-central Nghe An Province.

In addition to the crack, a blood stain was found on the surface of the cockpit glass.

Mechanics replaced the cracked glass with a new part after commenting that the plane could have collided with a bird. 

According to NAA, these two incidents were considered force majeure events that happen when a plane accidentally hits a bird, pieces of hail, or other foreign objects during flight.

As most large airports are equipped with bird repellent systems, collisions between planes and birds frequently occur outside the airport, particularly during landing and take-off., NAA said.

Meanwhile, hail can also cause cracks in cockpit windows, especially during transitional seasons when thunderstorms are more frequent.

Like us on Facebook or  follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!