A plane departing from Ho Chi Minh City for the north-central town of Vinh had to reroute to Hanoi on Tuesday after the flight crew pressed the “wrong” warning button, a Vietnam Airlines spokesman said.
Le Truong Giang dismissed information that the flight had been hijacked as reported earlier, according to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.
He was quoted by Tuoi Tre as saying that the crew of the VN 1266 flight had “unintentionally” activated the button warning against possible infiltration into the cockpit, triggering an emergency signal and forcing the plane to make an emergency landing at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport. It landed safely at 7:15 pm.
Earlier, media reports including Vietnam News Agency quoted an unidentified source as saying that someone had tried to force his/her way into the cockpit, forcing the plane to reroute to Hanoi.