'Hard landing': Nose wheels of Air India Express plane detach at Phuket airport; flight operations suspended

'Passengers deplaned and taken to the terminal building. There has been no injury to any person'

An Air India Express Boeing 737 MAX plane made a suspected hard landing at the Phuket International Airport on Wednesday, which led to two of its nose wheels getting detached.

The aircraft, VT-BWQ, operated the flight IX938 from Hyderabad to Phuket.

Passengers were deplaned and taken to the terminal building. There has been no injury to any person, according to a PTI report that quoted a senior Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official.

The number of passengers on board the Boeing 737-Max 8 could not be immediately ascertained.

Airport operations are temporarily suspended as the aircraft is stuck on the runway and is being towed to the bay, according to officials.

An Air India Express spokesperson said the plane experienced an issue with the nose wheel at the Phuket airport and the crew followed all standard protocols, and guests were deplaned.

The aircraft was involved in a suspected hard landing with a bounce on runway 9 at the Phuket airport, the DGCA official said.

A hard landing in aviation parlance is usually an unintentional landing where an aircraft hits the ground with excessive vertical speed and force.

"Aircraft is stuck on the runway, both nose wheels got detached," the DGCA official said, adding that an investigation would be carried out by the appropriate authority after consultation with Thailand aviation authorities.

The official said both nose wheels of the aircraft were replaced as part of routine maintenance on March 8.

(With PTI inputs)