Luftfahrt: Flughafen München entging offen nur knapp einer Katastrophe

München's airport narrowly avoided disaster after an errant takeoff by a Boeing passenger aircraft, according to aviation expert Heinrich Großbongardt. The incident could have resulted in a fiery explosion with hundreds of fatalities, said Großbongardt, if the pilots had not managed to boost the plane back up.

The Boeing 787 operated by Vietnam Airlines was launched just behind the tip of the southern runway on Saturday afternoon. Videos captured the powerful dust cloud and cabin vibrations. The aircraft's right-side brakes were reportedly jammed before takeoff, causing the tail to pitch down and sustain significant damage.

Subsequent return landing on the northern runway also saw tire tread fragmentation on the main landing gear. Passengers were safely transported in buses to the airport building after the incident. Großbongardt stated that the exact cause of the accident would need to be investigated by the Federal Office for Aircraft Accident Investigation, which would take months.

Questions remain regarding why the crew did not abort the takeoff in time. The Munich railway, with its 4,000-meter length, provided sufficient safety margins, said Großbongardt, who was previously Germany's spokesperson for Boeing until 2004. He emphasized that the Dreamliner series, manufactured by the US company Boeing, is an 'absolutely safe commercial airline.'

The incident mirrored a previous Lufthansa Dreamliner crash at Frankfurt Airport, where the tail wheel collapsed at the stand due to a maintenance error.