Air India Express Flight Hard Lands at Phuket, Closes Runway

An Air India Express Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft made a hard landing at Phuket International Airport in Thailand on March 11, damaging its nose landing gear and forcing the temporary closure of the facility's sole runway. The incident, involving Flight IX938 from Hyderabad, India, occurred around 11:40 a.m. local time and disrupted operations at one of Asia's busiest tourist hubs, leading to flight diversions and delays for both domestic and international services.

The plane, registered as VT-BWQ, touched down on Runway 9 with 133 passengers and seven crew members on board. According to officials from India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aircraft experienced a bounce during landing, causing both nose wheels to detach and leaving it stuck on the runway. No injuries were reported, and all passengers were safely deplaned and escorted to the terminal building. Airport authorities issued a Notice to Airmen, suspending operations from about 12:08 p.m. until 6 p.m. local time to allow for inspections, aircraft removal, and safety checks.

An Air India Express spokesperson confirmed the details in a statement, saying, "We confirm that our Hyderabad-Phuket flight on...