Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787-9 Skids 120 Meters Past Munich Runway End During Takeoff
An aviation catastrophe appears to have been only narrowly averted at Munich International Airport (MUC) on Saturday after a Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner with as many as 274 passengers on board plowed 120 meters past the end of the runway as it attempted to take off, with the wheels smashing into the runway lights as the plane eventually became airborne. Aircraft Details Registration VN-A867 Aircraft Type Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Engines General Electric GEnx-1B Operator Vietnam Airlines Route Munich (MUC) to Hanoi (HAN) Flight Number VN34 .pyok-callout { display: flex; border-radius: 0; background: #f7f9fc; margin: 24px 0; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; } .pyok-callout-inner { padding: 20px 24px; width: 100%; } .pyok-callout-head { margin-bottom: 12px; } .pyok-callout-tag { font-size: 20px; font-weight: 900; letter-spacing: 0.04em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #120E43; } .pyok-aircraft-list { margin: 0; padding: 0; } .pyok-aircraft-row { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; align-items: baseline; gap: 16px; padding: 10px 0; border-top: 1px solid #e1e7ef; } .pyok-aircraft-row:first-child { border-top: none; padding-top: 0; } .pyok-aircraft-row dt { font-size: 13px; font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.04em; color: #8a93a3; margin: 0; flex-shrink: 0; } .pyok-aircraft-row dd { font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700; color: #1a1a1a; margin: 0; text-align: right; } @media (max-width: 420px) { .pyok-aircraft-row { flex-direction: column; align-items: flex-start; gap: 4px; } .pyok-aircraft-row dd { text-align: left; } } Vietnam Airlines flight VN-34 from Munich to Hanoi, operated by a 10-year-old Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, departed at around 1:57 pm on August 15, for what should have been a routine ten-hour flight to Vietnam. The aircraft departed from Munich’s Northern Runway, officially known as 26L, a 4,000-meter-long concrete runway, which, by global standards, is considered long. This is important as the pilots appeared to have major issues in getting the aircraft airborne. Video footage captured by plane spotters at the airport showed the aircraft speeding along the runway. At the point that you would expect the aircraft to take off, it carried on accelerating along the runway. Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner reportedly overruns the runway during take-off from Munich. The aircraft is currently on approach to the airport after holding. Video: MunichAviation pic.twitter.com/qqbWSV2jrN — Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) August 15, 2026 The aircraft carried on like this for the entire length of the runway, reportedly plowing 120 meters past the end of the runway, kicking up dirt and dust, before it eventually became airborne, with the plane still so low that the tires scraped the runway approach lights, which mark the runway threshold. The pilots already knew that something was very amiss and told air traffic control that they had to make a return to Munich Airport. Due to the amount of fuel loaded on the aircraft for the long-haul flight to Vietnam, however, the aircraft had to enter a holding pattern for 90 minutes to dump some of the excess fuel and bring the plane down to a safer landing weight. The pilots didn’t, however, land the aircraft immediately after dumping the excess fuel. First, they carried out two low approaches across Runway 26R – presumably so that the air traffic control tower could observe what damage had been caused to the underside of the plane. On the third approach, the plane landed with smoke and debris seen coming from the landing gear, because the tires had been ripped to shreds. The plane came to a stop on the runway and became disabled there. Confirmed tail strike damage on VN-A867 The whole tail strike module is gone. There's a clear puncture through the lower fuselage, with torn composite and heavy scrape marks running aft. This was not light contact… they must have been pulling hard to get it airborne. This jet… pic.twitter.com/WNBqFvzMzf — Fahad Naim (@Fahadnaimb) August 15, 2026 Tail strike on VN-A867 + possible ELECTRIC BRAKE ACTUATOR ISSUES On Both MAIN GEAR. Vietnam Airlines 787-9 out of Munich today… very late rotation, almost full runway used, confirmed tail strike, then returned with multiple tires shredded. Electric Brake Actuator (EBA)… pic.twitter.com/d2t2mD52T5 — Fahad Naim (@Fahadnaimb) August 15, 2026 Munich’s Northern Runway remains closed, and airport authorities have warned of continued delays as a result of this incident. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but leaked photos showing the underside of the aircraft show just how serious the situation was. It appears that the pilots were so desperate to get the aircraft in the air that when it did finally take off, the tail struck the ground with such force that it created a gash in the underside of the fuselage. The cause of the accident has yet to be established, although one theory is that the pilots may have entered the incorrect takeoff calculations into the flight deck computer. A mechanical issue cannot, however, be ruled out at this stage. The aircraft is likely to remain grounded for some time as it will require specialist maintenance to fix the fuselage damage caused by the tailstrike.