VietNamNet Bridge – An aircraft of Vietnam Airlines nearly collided with another plane at the Baiyun Airport (Guangzhou, China) on March 2.

According to Chinese aviation websites, flight VN502 from Ho Chi Minh City to Guangzhou was  about to move into the parking  area when it nearly collided with a plane of Shandong Airlines, which was departing for Jinan in Shandong Province, China. The Shandong Airlines aircraft’s departure was delayed for four hours because of the incident.

A Vietnam Airlines representative said that at 2 pm on March 2, after landing at the Baiyun airport, the Vietnam Airlines plane had been approved by the air control station to move on the taxi path that runs through the runway 02L to enter the parking area. When the pilots saw other aircraft preparing to take off from the head of runway 02L, the captain decided to stop the aircraft to wait off the runway at a safe distance.

Once the other aircraft left the runway 02L, according to the precepts of the air traffic station and the ground control station at the airport, the Vietnam Airlines plane continued to go along the taxi path through the 02L runway to the parking area. The plane returned to Ho Chi Minh City as planned.

Results of a preliminary investigation of Vietnam Airlines and the initial conclusion of the Civil Aviation Administration of China show that the problem could have been caused by the communication between the flight crew and the air traffic control station. The incident is being clarified by the authorities.

The VNA aircraft is an Airbus A321, controlled by captain Rajesh Singh Bhullar of Kenya. The plane, with registration number VNA360, was put put into operation in 2009. Its most recent technical inspection was on January 11, 2015.

According to Director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, Lai Xuan Thanh, the pilots promptly handled the situation and the incident did not directly lead to flight safety problems.

VNE