VN 321 Lands on Closed Rwy at Nah Trang Cam Ranh

[Hogger60]

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/vietnam-airlines-a321-landed-on-unfinished-runway-448165/

Landed on new (albeit not finished) runway.

http://www.airlive.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/vietnamairlines_bskx-1024x575.jpghttp://www.airlive.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/vt_dongco_wjgh.jpg

[EDLB]

Engine damage is expensive enough that the airlane as well as airport and ATC will improve their procedures.

[Pugilistic Animus]

FOD? ........

[Start Fore]

FOD? ........

To be expected on a closed runway..

[Cynical Sid]

There are some more images online, particularly of the engine. I can't post links or images yet, but it is easy to find with a search. A twitter user called @JacdecNew has posted them. It looks like part of the upper cowl is missing. Hard to see how it was caused by the wrong runway landing though.

[Old King Coal]

The info I have is that they were following an RNAV approach (which is a non-precision approach) to R20. They very likely became visual with the airport & runway environment and the picture they saw out of their flight-deck windows fitted with what they were expecting to see, i.e. they saw what looked to be the active runway directly in front of them (and it is part of the human condition to make a picture fit with what one's expecting to see). They then very likely transfixed upon landing on that said same runway (i.e. the one directly in front of them) and only latterly discovered their mistake after having touched down upon it. Fortunately the runway was (I assume?) clear of people & construction machinery at the time.
There's maybe some questions about runway markings, plus approach lights / papi's, and notams, that either were or were not in place.

[RAT 5]

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) is investigating a serious incident in which a Vietnam Airlines Airbus A321 landed on a runway that is still under construction.
The incident happened at Nha Trang on 29 April at 14:53 local time, when the aircraft landed incorrectly on what will eventually become runway 02R, as opposed to runway 02, which will become runway 02L, says the CAAV.

If this is correct then RW02 is the only active runway. Is it also correct to assume the FMC RNAV data base would have only RW02 loaded? If so then they would have been lined up with the active runway; so the hypothesis above is debatable. Equally this runway construction must have been more than 1, even, 2 years in action. Thus seeing 2 // runways should not have been a surprise. NOTAMS, company notices etc etc???

[DaveReidUK]

Thus seeing 2 // runways should not have been a surprise.

Runway 02 has a full length parallel taxiway. If the runway itself had been mistaken for the taxiway, then that could have led to the perception that the under-construction runway was 02.

[India Four Two]

For those not familiar with Cam Ranh airport, I should point out that the closed runway that the Airbus landed on, is not in fact new. It is being refurbished.

When the USAF built this airfield in the 60s, there were two parallel runways, 02L/20R and 02R/20L. When commercial flights moved there from Nha Trang in 2004, the old 02L/20R was refurbished and designated 02/20. The old 02R/02L was marked as closed, so it’s not as if it’s a new feature on the airport, although I suppose that now it is being refurbished, it might look more like an operational runway. The full length taxiway is on the west (left) of 02.

[EDLB]

On google earth the „new“ runway looks completely unmarked. But a good stretch in the middle is missing since years given the vegetation.

[Cynical Sid]

On google earth the „new“ runway looks completely unmarked. But a good stretch in the middle is missing since years given the vegetation.

The GE imagery is more than a year old.