A plane departing from Ho Chi Minh City for the north-central town of Vinh had to reroute to Hanoi on Tuesday after the flight crew pressed the “wrong” warning button, a Vietnam Airlines spokesman said.
Le Truong Giang dismissed information that the flight had been hijacked as reported earlier, according to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.
He was quoted by Tuoi Tre as saying that the crew of the VN 1266 flight had “accidentally” activated the button warning against possible infiltration into the cockpit, triggering an emergency signal and forcing the plane to make an emergency landing at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport. It has landed safely.
Earlier, media reports including Vietnam News Agency quoted an unidentified source as saying that someone had tried to force his/her way into the cockpit, forcing the plane to reroute to Hanoi.
Officials from the Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam are on the way to the airport to instruct investigative work.
News website VnExpress quoted airport authorities as saying that the pilots have been interviewed to account for the emergency landing of the plane.
Currently, Vietnam Airlines operates three flights from HCMC to Vinh, the capital town of Nghe An Province, on a daily basis. The flight in trouble was the last of the day, taking off at 5:10 pm and scheduled to land in Vinh at 6:55 pm.
TO BE UPDATED…
Đăng ký: VietNam News
