Get you up to speed: Air India Express plane makes hard landing at Phuket airport, damaging nose wheel
Passengers on Air India Express flight AXB938 from Hyderabad experienced a hard landing at Phuket Airport, damaging the nose of the Boeing 737 Max. The incident caused temporary disruptions to flights at the airport, which is one of the busiest hubs in Thailand.
After the landing incident involving Air India Express flight AXB938, a spokesperson stated that the plane ‘experienced an issue with the nose wheel’ and confirmed that ‘the crew followed all standard protocols.’ Phuket Airport was closed for hours before services resumed at 6pm local time.
The closure of Phuket Airport lasted for several hours before services resumed at 6pm local time. A spokesperson for Air India Express confirmed the aircraft “experienced an issue with the nose wheel,” and the crew followed all standard protocols for passenger deplaning.
Moment Air India plane belly slides along runway after losing wheel | News World
Passengers experienced a terrifying arrival at Thailand’s Phuket airport after the plane nosedived onto the tarmac.
Flights at the airport, one of the busiest hubs in Thailand, were briefly disrupted after the Boeing 737 Max made its bumpy landing today, damaging its nose in the process.
The flight was operated by Air India Express, a subsidiary of Air India, the company involved in the Ahmedabad plane disaster that killed 260 people last year.
Today’s flight AXB938 from Hyderabad, India, suffered damage to its landing gear when it hit the runway, according to Phuke Airport officials.
Other planes were grounded at Phuket Airport today after the incident (Picture: ViralPress)
Footage shows the plane with 133 people on board making a hard landing at the airport, which is just yards from the beachfront.
The aircraft left a trail of smoke behind it as it screeched to a halt without its nose wheel.
One passenger, who was filming the approach to the airport, appeared to drop his phone due to the impact.
The Boeing 737 Max left a trail of smoke as it appeared to lose its nose wheel (Picture: Viral Press)
After reaching his phone, he zooms in on an object next to the runway, thought to be the landing wheel.
Images show the aircraft with just the wheel fork left underneath it, and with a long skid mark on the tarmac where the metal jammed and dragged along the concrete surface.
The emergency services met the plane after the landing and passengers were able to disembark.
The pilots managed to steer the plane and bring it to a stop despite the missing nose wheel, which left a long skid mark on the tarmac at Phuket Airport (Picture: ViralPress)
The airport was closed for hours before services resumed at 6pm local time.
A spokesperson for Air India Express said the plane ‘experienced an issue with the nose wheel.’
‘The crew followed all standard protocols, and guests were deplaned,’ they said.
One of the rear tyres was torn during the hard landing, which saw the plane skid on the tarmac at one of Thailand’s busiest airports (Picture: ViralPress)
The incident comes months after the fatal Air India flight 171 tragedy, which left only one survivor on board the doomed plane.
Air India has come under pressure as an investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing, with officials reportedly leaning towards deliberate pilot action after a mechanical failure was ruled out.
Meanwhile, Air India Express, the budget arm of the parent airline, was told off by India’s aviation watchdog for allegedly not changing engine parts on an Airbus A320 plane, and falsifying records over it.
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