The Soviet-built Tupolev Tu-134B-3 airliner crashed approximately 800 metres (2,600 ft; 870 yd) short of the Phnom Penh runway, killing 65 of the 66 people on board.

As of December 2023, the route between Tan Son Nhat and Phnom Penh has the flight number VN920 and is usually operated with Airbus A321 aircraft.

[2] Flight 815 nowadays is designated to a route between Tan Son Nhat and Siem Reap, also operated using Airbus A321 aircraft.

[5] Because of this pilots had to use the NDB located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi; 2.7 nmi) west in order to get a general fix of the area, and had to keep descending until they could make visual contact with the airfield in inclement weather.

However, when the plane approached the airport it was at 3,000 feet (910 m) when the pilot again asked for permission to land, stating that he could not find the runway.

The pilot acknowledged the request, and had no further contact with the control tower.Two minutes later, Flight 815 was spotted still approaching from the east.

The plane descended to 100 feet (30 m), still with no visual of the runway, at which point the first officer and the flight engineer, again asked the captain to abort the landing.

Once the bodies were removed, villagers looted much of the remaining personal belongings and parts of the aircraft including the flight recorders.

The airline stated that the navigational equipment at Phnom Penh airport was out of order and its control tower gave the pilots incorrect information prior to takeoff.

However, the report by Cambodia's Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee determined that the cause of the crash was pilot error.

When the aircraft hit the trees, the captain finally realized the runway was not in sight and tried to abort the approach; the flight engineer pushed for full power, but the aircraft lost control and veered right; the right engine then failed, making it impossible to gain lift.