Phuket International Airport temporarily closed its runway on Wednesday after an Air India Express aircraft made a hard landing, damaging its landing gear and disrupting arriving flights.
At around noon on 11 March, an Air India Express Boeing 737 MAX 8 on the Hyderabad-Phuket route suffered a problem on the runway. The aircraft, registration VT-BWQ, reportedly had a detached wheel, believed to be caused by a hard landing.
Preliminary checks found that the nose landing gear was damaged, preventing the aircraft from being moved off the runway immediately. There were seven crew members, 131 passengers, and two infants on board. All 133 passengers were disembarked safely and taken to the waiting area. No injuries were reported.
Air India Express spokesperson said the aircraft experienced an issue with the nose wheel at Phuket Airport and all passengers were safe.
“We confirm that our Hyderabad-Phuket flight on 11 March experienced an issue with the nose wheel at Phuket Airport. The crew followed all standard protocols, and guests were deplaned. We thank our guests, the Phuket airport authorities, and all stakeholders for their cooperation," reads Air India Express’s statement.
Phuket International Airport issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) from 12.08pm to 6pm, temporarily closing the runway. All flights scheduled to land were required to hold in nearby airspace, and some were diverted to alternate airports.
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Airport officials began inspecting the runway and coordinating with relevant agencies to ensure safety procedures were followed before resuming operations. The removal of the aircraft and safety checks were initially estimated to take around six hours.
Air India Express flight AXB938 arrived ahead of schedule at 11.24am, with a planned landing time of 11.40am. Airport authorities confirmed the situation was
Source: World News in news18.com, World Latest News, World News
