An Air India Express flight from Hyderabad to Phuket experienced a hard landing at Phuket International Airport, resulting in damage to the aircraft’s nose landing gear and the temporary closure of the airport runway.
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft was carrying 133 passengers at the time of the incident. According to airport authorities, the plane encountered a problem during landing, which caused the nose wheel to break. The aircraft reportedly slid along the runway before coming to a stop.
Emergency response teams and airport officials quickly arrived at the scene to secure the aircraft and ensure passenger safety. All passengers were safely evacuated from the aircraft and taken to a designated passenger waiting area at the airport terminal.
Following the incident, airport authorities issued a Notice to Air Mission (NOTAM) announcing the temporary closure of the runway until 6:00 pm local time to allow the damaged aircraft to be cleared and for safety inspections to be carried out. The closure may lead to delays or adjustments to other flight operations at the airport.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Air India Express confirmed the incident and said that the crew followed all standard safety procedures. “We confirm that our Hyderabad–Phuket flight on March 11 experienced an issue with the nose wheel during landing at Phuket Airport. The crew handled the situation according to established safety protocols, and all guests were safely deplaned,” the airline said.
The flight, operating as IX 938, departed from Hyderabad at approximately 6:42 am, slightly later than its scheduled departure time of 6:20 am, and landed in Phuket at around 11:40 am local time, according to flight tracking data.
The nose wheel is a critical part of an aircraft’s landing gear system, supporting the forward section of the aircraft and enabling steering during taxiing, takeoff, and landing. Aviation authorities are expected to review the incident and conduct further inspections to determine the exact cause.