In mid-August 2026, a Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787-9 had a terrifying takeoff from Munich, whereby it overran the runway, causing damage to the runway lights and the plane. Fortunately the plane did eventually manage to get airborne, so none of the 287 people onboard were injured.
This incident was beyond bizarre, as it appeared the plane just kept rolling and rolling and rolling, despite this being an insanely long runway, at over 13,000 feet. There have been a lot of questions about what caused this incident, and a preliminary report has just been released. However, the explanation raises even more questions.
Captain’s brakes were activated during Boeing 787 takeoff roll
The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) has just released its preliminary report into the August 15 takeoff accident involving a Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787-9 departing Munich. Why did the plane struggle to take off on such a long runway?
Well, the investigation has so far determined that there were repeated brake pedal inputs during takeoff at the captain’s seat:
- Just seconds after the takeoff roll started, the flight recorder showed rudder pedal inputs and movements on both sides of the left seat brake pedals (so this would be the captain’s side of the aircraft)
- The aircraft continued accelerating, but braking activity was recorded repeatedly
- Just under a minute after the takeoff roll began, the Brake System Control Unit (BSCU) recorded a maximum brake command of around 27% on the left, and 17% on the right
- A couple of seconds later, the pilots attempted to rotate the aircraft at a speed of just 163 knots, below the calculated VR (rotation speed) of 175 knots
- Seconds later, the leading edge slats automatically extended as the aircraft’s stall protection system activated
- The plane just barely got off the ground, before returning to Munich for an emergency landing, and the plane has been grounded there ever since
How do we make sense of this explanation?
Aircraft accident investigations take time, and even when you figure out the factors that may have contributed to something, it doesn’t necessarily tell you what caused that series of events to happen.
Like, we know the Dreamliner accelerated down a very long runway, and from looking at the video, it was clear that it just wasn’t gaining speed. We learned almost immediately that the plane wasn’t overweight, and that thrust had been applied.
So in many ways, the concept of the brakes being activated in some form seems like the most logical explanation. However, why on earth would that happen?! For those not familiar, pilots have the rudder pedals and brakes at their feet. The below video gives you a basic sense of how they work.
During takeoff, pilots will use the rudder pedals to maintain directional control, and keep the plane going down the centerline. But of course they don’t want to use the brakes. While the rudder pedals and brakes are in theory part of the same systems, it’s not like anyone should be mixing them up.
What makes this even stranger is that this was at the captain’s seat, and not the first officer’s seat. Not that you’d expect anyone to screw this up, but you certainly wouldn’t expect the more experienced pilot to make that mistake.
Was there some sort of malfunction with the pedals, that caused unintended braking? If so, why didn’t the pilots notice how they weren’t gaining speed, and abort the takeoff?
I hate to even suggest this is a possibility, but is there a chance it was an intentional act? I mean, this was very close to being a catastrophic accident. One certainly can’t help but think back to AI171, the Air India Boeing 787 that had a deadly takeoff accident of its own, whereby power was cut just seconds after takeoff. This was also a 787, and also a case of power being reduced (but in a different way) during takeoff.
Again, we don’t know anything beyond what’s in the preliminary report, but I’m just sharing what I think are the logical questions.
Sometimes we get these preliminary reports and they answer most of the questions we could have (like the Amazon Air situation, where awful airmanship was without a doubt a major factor). Meanwhile in this situation, the answer only raises more questions.
Bottom line
On August 15, we saw a Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787 have a terrifying takeoff incident in Munich, where the plane struggled to get airborne, despite the very long runway. The initial report has now been published, and states that there were several brake inputs at the captain’s rudder pedals during the takeoff roll.
There’s absolutely no reason a pilot attempting a takeoff roll would be braking unless the intention was to abort the takeoff. So was there some system glitch, was the pilot confused, was this an intentional act, or what? And when the plane failed to accelerate properly, why didn’t they abort the takeoff earlier?
What do you make of this initial report into the Vietnam Airlines 787 incident in Munich?
There are several photos showing the skid marks of the tires on the runway. So the activation of the brakes fits the evidence on the runway.
The question is intentional, "oops" like airplane or mechanical/electrical signal fault somewhere showing inputs and resulting brakes activating?
This feels like the Florida equivalent of "elderly woman plows through Family Dollar glass window after mistakenly confusing gas for brake pedal".
Florida equivalent?? That exact scenario happens in Massachusetts at Dollar Tree’s, too