At least 14 passengers were injured when a Thai Airways aircraft skidded off the runway when landing at Bangkok’s main airport.
The Airbus A330 arriving from Guangzhou in China had a “glitch” in its wheel base while landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport late yesterday (Sunday), the airline said.
The aircraft was carrying 288 passengers and 14 crew.
Passengers were evacuated using emergency slides and the 14 injured were sent to a Bangkok hospital, Thai Airways said.
The airline’s president Sorajak Kasemsuvan said: “After touchdown at Suvarnabhumi Airport, the landing gear malfunctioned and caused the aircraft to skid off the runway.
“Sparks were noticed from the vicinity of the right landing gear near the engine; the matter is under investigation.
“The captain took control of the aircraft until it came to a complete stop and passengers were evacuated from the aircraft emergency exits. The operation was conducted by the captain and the cabin crew strictly according to emergency procedures.”
Thai Airways said they were to conduct a full invesitgation into the cause of the incident.
The airline said on its Twitter account that 14 injured passengers were sent to hospitals.
The runway at Suvarnabhumi airport was only temporarily closed but flight delays are expected today.
The Australian reported that the airline covered up their logo and name following the incident.
The incident occurred less than two weeks after 20 passengers were injured when a Thai Airways A380 from Bangkok hit severe turbulence as it was descending to Hong Kong’s airport.