THAI Airways International (THAI) will launch an investigation into last night’s incident at Suvarnabhumi Airport, where one of the airline’s planes skidded off the runway upon landing.
The Airbus A330-300 aircraft had departed Guangzhou at 21.25 and arrived in the Thai capital at 23.20, carrying 288 passengers and 14 cabin crew members.
In an official statement, THAI said that the aircraft’s landing gear had malfunctioned after touchdown, causing the plane to skid off the runway. Sparks were also noticed near the right landing gear close to the engine.
After the plane came to a complete stop, passengers were evacuated via the aircraft’s emergency exits and the 13 passengers who suffered minor injuries were transferred to the hospital.
The Bangkok Post reported THAI president Sorajak Kasemsuvan as saying that the runway was closed to flights as the aircraft had not been moved, but there was no need to divert flights to Don Mueang Airport.
Nevertheless, delays are expected for both inbound and outbound flights today, he said.
