The Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam set up a team to investigate an emergency landing made Tuesday evening by a passenger plane flying from HCM City to Vinh City.

The passengers and crew members landed safely.

The authority's deputy director, Do Quang Viet, would lead the team, said Lai Xuan Thanh, the authority's director.

The Vietnam Airlines flight encountered technical problems, and was forced to make an emergency landing in Ha Noi's Noi Bai International Airport. It was carrying 135 passengers and seven crew members.

Vietnam Airlines said the plane was forced to make a sharp descent (from a height of 11,000m to 4,000m) when cabin pressure suddenly fell. Oxygen masks were deployed to support passengers and crew members.

The passengers and crew members landed safely, and were transferred to another aircraft to continue their journey to Vinh.

The Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that there were no security threats on the flight.

Pham Quy Tieu, the Deputy Minister of Transport, said relevant agencies were keeping the plane's black box for their investigation, and that the case would be reported to the Government.

The plane, Airbus A321, started operating in 2008. Its last technical inspection was last month. The flight's captain was Pechanec Marek from the Czech Republic.

VNS/VNN