Incident Overview
On 17 April 2022, at approximately 03:15 local time, a maintenance lift truck collided with an Airbus A321 aircraft, registration VN-A603, at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. The aircraft, operated by Vietnam Airlines, had been undergoing scheduled maintenance and an APU bleed air system repair at the VAECO hangar area. The collision occurred when the lift truck operator inadvertently raised the platform instead of retracting the stabilizers, causing the safety barrier to strike the lower tail section of the aircraft. The operator did not report the incident.
Sequence of Events
On the night of 16 April 2022, flight VN1823 arrived at Tan Son Nhat and the aircraft was towed to a position in front of Hangar 1 for a weekly check and repair of the APU bleed air system (work order VN23985174). At 23:30, two maintenance technicians (NVKT#1 and NVKT#2) and a lift truck operator began the work. After positioning the lift truck, technician NVKT#2, who was not trained to operate the lift, raised the platform under the supervision of NVKT#1. The operator left the area at 23:50.
At 02:50 on 17 April, the technicians completed the maintenance, lowered the platform, and called the operator to retrieve the truck. The operator returned at 03:10 and entered the cab to retract the stabilizers, but mistakenly pressed the platform raise button. Realizing the error, he stopped and climbed onto the platform, where he observed the barrier had contacted the aircraft. He then lowered the platform, retracted the stabilizers, drove the truck away, and failed to report the event.
Damage and Detection
The aircraft sustained dents and scratches on the lower tail skin: at frame 79-80, left side, a 67 cm by 50 cm by 1 cm depression; at access door 314AR, right side, a 64 cm by 54 cm by 1.1 cm depression; and cracks on the APU air intake lip. Subsequently, the aircraft was towed to gate 12, where a preflight check was performed by a different technician (NVKT#4), who did not inspect the tail area. The captain's walk-around also missed the damage. Flight VN1823 departed at 06:21 and landed at Phu Quoc International Airport at 07:13. A post-flight inspection by a technician at Phu Quoc discovered the damage, which exceeded allowable limits per the manufacturer's maintenance manual. The aircraft was grounded for repair. The flight operated safely with no injuries to passengers or crew.
Personnel and Procedural Findings
The investigation identified that the lift truck operator failed to follow ground equipment control procedures by leaving the truck unattended during maintenance and by not reporting the collision. Technician NVKT#2 operated the lift platform without proper training, and technician NVKT#1 allowed this violation. The towing technician (NVKT#3) did not inspect the tail area after towing, and the preflight technician (NVKT#4) also omitted the tail inspection. Weather conditions were clear and suitable for maintenance.