Win the book about the legendary Hapag-Lloyd emergency landing!

Win the book about the legendary Hapag-Lloyd emergency landing!

On July 12, 2000, a remarkable incident in aviation history occurred when Hapag-Lloyd Flight 3378 had to make a dramatic emergency landing in Vienna on its way from Chania (Crete) to Hannover-Langenhagen. The Airbus A310-300, registered as D-AHLB, faced a devastating situation following a technical issue that prevented a main landing gear from retracting. This led to a drastically increased kerosene consumption of 60 percent, so the captain decided to continue flying, despite the obvious risks. In a brave attempt to land the plane safely, he chose Vienna as his destination after an originally planned detour via Munich was scrapped.

The situation escalated when the aircraft's engines failed 12 NM short of the runway and the crew issued an emergency message at 1:20 p.m. At 1:34 p.m. the Airbus touched the ground 660 meters short of the runway and was seriously damaged. Fortunately, there were no fatalities, but 26 passengers suffered minor injuries. The aircraft was 10.7 years old at the time and had already completed 2,000 landings. The cause of the landing gear not retracting was determined to be an inadequately secured lock nut on the landing gear retraction hydraulics. These findings are part of the investigation into the case by various institutions, including the Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU), which is responsible for researching the causes of aircraft accidents.

A competition for the 25th anniversary

To mark the 25th anniversary of this dramatic emergency landing, the Austrian Wings news portal is offering an exciting competition: readers can win a book entitled “Hapag-Lloyd Flight 3378 – Emergency Landing with Empty Tanks in Vienna”. To enter the competition, readers must correctly guess the number of flight attendants on duty on July 12, 2000. Answers must be sent by email to wings(at)austrianwings.info by July 20, 2025 at 12 p.m. The exact details and background information are available in the reports from Austrian Wings and the “Flight Forensics” podcast.

Winners will be chosen at random from the correct entries and notified promptly by email. A cash redemption of the prize is not possible and legal action is excluded. The students can not only immerse themselves in the history of aviation, but also win an exciting book!

A look at flight safety

The discussion surrounding Hapag-Lloyd Flight 3378 also repeatedly takes a look at aviation safety in general. According to a survey of aviation accidents, there has been a significant decline in fatal accidents, although the number of flights is steadily increasing. Technical progress and repeated training for pilots have contributed to significantly improving safety levels, which is also evident from the low accident rates in recent years.

Statistics and surveys are aggregated by various institutions, associations and international organizations. Dealing responsibly with aviation safety therefore remains an ongoing challenge in which the lessons from the past help to make aviation even safer. Whether old stories like that of Hapag-Lloyd Flight 3378 or current developments - the topic remains relevant and captivating.

For those interested, there is more information on this topic in the detailed articles at – Austrian Wings, Wikipedia and Research information system.