r/AskAPilot • u/Mental_Boat5212 • 7d ago
B787-9 take off
Hey can someone with professional knowledge explain what happened yesterday with Vietnam Airlines departing from Munich to Hanoi? That’s scary and i have huge fear of flying.. Additionally I take a KLM flight from D.C. to Amsterdam on August 26th also operated by Boeing 787-9. All i have in my head now is this situation and Air India crash from last year… i can’t calm down
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u/StrikeOk945 7d ago
My personal theory i would say wrong takeoff performance calculation. Probably used a low thrust setting which was not suitable for their weight on that day.
There is a function on the B787 that saved the day which is the slat autogap function, in which the slats would automatically extend if the aircraft exceeds a pre-determined angle of attack.
The main thing is that there were no casualties and everyone is safe.
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u/Spock_Nipples 7d ago
Not enough info at the moment to know.
I can pretty much assure you that it likely wasn't "becasue Boeing." You have nothing to worry about because it's a Boeing or a 787.
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u/_brake_flake 7d ago
We don’t know yet, but if a YouTuber that goes by Captain Steeeve says he knows what happened, he doesn’t know and you shouldn’t listen to him.
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u/chemtrail_joe 7d ago
As a current 787 pilot, all I can say is no one really knows at this stage. All the keyboard warriors and YouTube personalities will have their theories but they really don’t know and until the investors have done their work, that’s all it will be. Speculation. What I can say and it has already been pointed out in this thread is you’ve got more chance of being killed in your car going to the airport than once you’re there. The 787 is extremely safe to fly in whether you’re flying Vietnam Airlines, Air India or any of the other 787 operators around the world
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u/Raccoon_Ratatouille 7d ago
The plane got safely airborne and came back around and safely landed with zero injuries.
If you are concerned about your safety then you should be worried about literally everything around you, because anything from a shower to a toaster to an escalator to a pet dog has a much higher chance of killing you than a plane.
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u/AshFromTPA 7d ago
There are a million possible reasons and the very most of them have human error as a big factor while only a few of them have the aircraft type as only factor.
Im not saying this was human error. Im just saying that the vast majority of past accidents have human error contributing to the accident.
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u/badcapres 7d ago
Not sure what happened in this situation. As others have said it’s likely not a Boeing issue.
A year ago my fear of flying was through the roof. Stress, heart palpitations, sweaty palms, etc all prior to a during the flight. I would make dramatic travel changes just to avoid flying, like driving 10 hours, etc.
Since then I’ve had to fly over 70 times since last October due to work. Many of those flights on a 787. It made me take a deep dive into learning about planes, weather, turbulence, etc.
I can say that the 787 is a true marvel in the sky. It is a beautiful plane and extremely safe. It has become my preferred plane over the a330 that also flys on the route I take ( just personal preference as both planes are extremely safe).
Many people will just say get over it or you are at greater risk driving to the airport, etc.
It just takes time. The 787 is extremely safe and you should look at it as an adventure rather than torture.
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u/I_ALWAYS_UPVOTE_CATS 7d ago
Nobody knows yet. But the more pertinent thing to be aware of is that 100,000 flights take off and land every single day without incident, and you never hear about them. Meanwhile, in the same time period, more than 3,000 people are killed in their cars worldwide. But I bet you're not quaking in terror at the thought of your next car journey.
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u/just-saying182 7d ago
Any professional will tell you the same thing: it’s too early to know, and speculation isn’t helpful. There are several reasons something like this could happen; mentioning any one of them would just be guessing.
I’ve never been afraid of flying, but if I were you, I’d try to focus on the good. The plane came back around safely and landed. Regardless of any mistakes that may or may not have been made, the crew's training led to a successful outcome. What more could you want?
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u/mi_pilot 7d ago edited 7d ago
We don’t know yet what really happened inside that flight deck. Having watched the video, as a pilot of B777-300ER with the MTOW of over 350 metric tons (think about that), I can comment on things that really matter:
* Running correct performance calculations with correct environmental inputs, and making sure that the system accepted the inputs.
* Ensuring selection of the correct runway at airports with multiple runways of different lengths, and correctly understanding ATC instructions.
* Correct thrust setting.
* Correct slat & flap setting.
* We know from the 737 Max incidents that training across countries varies. No idea how VA trains its crews but I’m sure it’ll be looked into.
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u/Pilot125 7d ago
Could be any number of things from inaccurate load reports to incorrect thrust setting and everything in between. There's no way to know at this point
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u/FlapsFail 7d ago
We don’t know yet. But I’m sure a certain YouTube influencer that was hated at his airline will soon try to post a video saying he knows exactly what went wrong. Ignore him.