On Thursday afternoon VJ722 from the central city of Da Nang landed at Cat Bi International Airport in northern Hai Phong City, and immediately its captain asked aircraft mechanics to check the wings.

On inspection, they found a panel has broken off the left wing.

No one’s safety came under any threat but in Vietnam an occurrence like this is ranked third only behind accidents and serious technical issues in terms of safety, and aviation authorities promptly launched an investigation.

The Airbus 321, which has been in operation since November 2017, has been grounded pending the investigation.