A Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787-9 recorded repeated brake inputs during its takeoff roll, in which it overran a runway at Munich Airport (MUC) before lifting off from the grass while striking several approach lights, according to an interim report by German accident investigators.
Flight recorder data showed movement of the brake pedals at the left pilot’s seat and corresponding brake activation shortly after the takeoff roll began. A second braking event, also from the left-seat brake pedals, occurred shortly before the crew raised the aircraft’s nose for liftoff.
The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) has not determined whether pilot action or a technical malfunction caused the brake inputs. Investigators have retained brake-system components and other aircraft parts for examination.
The aircraft was departing Munich for Hanoi on August 15, 2026, carrying 271 passengers, 12 cabin crew and four pilots. Nobody was injured, but the aircraft sustained substantial damage.
During the takeoff roll, the 787’s indicated airspeed remained near 168 knots for about 18 seconds, according to the report. The pilot in the right seat increased engine thrust shortly before liftoff.
The crew began raising the aircraft’s nose before it reached its calculated rotation speed. The aircraft continued beyond the runway and the clear area beyond it, becoming airborne from the grass. Its tail section and both main landing gear struck parts of the approach-lighting system.
The pilot flying from the left seat was 64 and had accumulated 27,182 flight hours. The flight’s designated pilot in command, who had been occupying the left jump seat during takeoff, took over the controls after the aircraft became airborne.
Vietnam’s aviation authority had identified a possible braking problem shortly after the incident, based on preliminary information that included the crew’s account of the takeoff.
The new report documents brake-pedal movement and brake-system activation, but does not establish the cause of the incident.
After climbing away from Munich, the crew dumped 62 metric tons of fuel before returning to land about two hours later. Four tires on the left main landing gear were found badly damaged.
Investigators could not recover cockpit audio from the takeoff. The voice recorder stored only two hours of audio, and that portion of the recording had been overwritten.