Hyderabad–Phuket Air India Express Flight Makes Hard Landing, Nose Gear Breaks
HYDERABAD: An Air India Express flight from Hyderabad made a hard landing at Phuket International Airport in Thailand on March 11, damaging the aircraft’s nose landing gear and forcing authorities to shut the runway until 18.00 local time.
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft was operating flight IX 938 from Hyderabad with 133 passengers on board. Airport staff safely evacuated all passengers and moved them to a waiting area, officials said.
Nose gear breaks during landing
Sources said the aircraft encountered a problem during landing and the nose landing gear broke, causing the aircraft to slide along the runway.
Photographs from the scene showed the aircraft’s broken nose wheel lying on the runway. Emergency response teams and airport authorities rushed to the spot to secure the area and assist passengers and crew.
Runway closed after incident
Airport authorities issued a Notice to Air Mission (NOTAM) and closed the runway temporarily. Teams started clearing the aircraft and conducting safety inspections. The closure may disrupt some flight operations at the airport.
Aircraft details and flight timeline
The nose wheel is a key part of an aircraft’s landing gear system, helping steer the aircraft and support the front section during taxiing, take-off and landing.
According to flight tracking website Flightradar24, flight IX 938 departed Hyderabad at 06.42 IST, slightly later than its scheduled departure of 06.20 IST. The aircraft landed at Phuket at 11.40 local time.
Airport officials confirmed the incident at about 11.55 local time and said the aircraft had made a hard landing that damaged the front landing gear.
Airline statement
An Air India Express spokesperson said, “We confirm that our Hyderabad–Phuket flight on March 11 experienced an issue with the nose wheel at Phuket Airport. The crew followed all standard protocols, and guests were safely deplaned. We thank our guests, the Phuket airport authorities, and all stakeholders for their cooperation.”
