Incident Overview
Description
Vietnam Airlines flight VN815, a Tupolev 134, impacted terrain short of the runway while attempting to land at Phnom Penh-Pochentong Airport, Cambodia in inclement weather conditions. A one-year old baby boy survived the accident. Minutes before the crash, a slight drizzle had turned into a heavy downpour. Yet, the captain failed to act upon warnings from the flight engineer and first officer that the plane was flying too low. Instead he ordered the crew to look for the runway. “Don’t see, don’t see, captain! Turn back,” the first officer responded. The aircraft then struck the palm tree. The captain then initiated an attempt to abort the approach. This failed as the aircraft struck several palm trees, damaging the left wing. The aircraft crashed into rice fields about 300 m short of the runway.
Primary Cause
Captain’s failure to heed warnings regarding altitude and runway approach, resulting in a critical error in judgment and disregard for safety protocols.Captain’s failure to heed warnings regarding altitude and runway approach, resulting in a critical error in judgment and disregard for safety protocols.Share on:
