What happened
During a scheduled flight from Hanoi to Vientiane, an aircraft carrying 62 students and six accompanying adults encountered severe weather conditions. As the plane approached Vientiane-Wattay Airport, intense thunderstorm activity resulted in significantly reduced visibility for the crew.
The captain performed multiple holding patterns and circuits around the area in an attempt to find the airfield; however, the meteorological conditions prevented a successful approach. Facing a critical shortage of fuel, the crew determined that an emergency landing was necessary to avoid a total engine flameout or uncontrolled descent.
The decision was made to perform a belly landing in an open field situated in Ban Mai, approximately 10 km west of the airport. Despite the impact, all 74 occupants were successfully evacuated from the aircraft without reported fatalities. The aircraft type sustained damage that rendered it a total loss.
Findings
- Severe thunderstorm activity and low visibility hindered the crew's ability to identify the destination runway.
- Fuel exhaustion necessitated the emergency landing in an unprepared field.