Air Transport

Vietnamese investigate 777 silence

Vietnam Airlines is helping the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) investigate an incident in late April in which one of the airline’s Boeing 777s lost radio contact while operating through Ukrainian, Polish and Czech airspace, writes Leithen Francis.

On 18 April, a Vietnam Airlines 777 en route from Vietnam to Frankfurt in Germany lost radio contact for about 1h when the aircraft was over Eastern Europe.

Vietnam Airlines confirms the incident occurred and that it is investigating it.

Two Czech military aircraft were reportedly sent to intercept the aircraft, after the widebody was classified as unidentified following its failure to establish contact with Czech air traffic control.

Vietnam Airlines says radio communication with air traffic control resumed when the aircraft was over the Czech Republic. It says it has been dealing with the Czech civil aviation authorities and adds: “We have got to present a report to the CAAV.”