Passenger plane makes hard landing: Landing gear breaks off

An Air India Express Boeing 737-800 passenger plane, flying from Hyderabad, India, to Phuket, Thailand, made a hard landing at Phuket International Airport at approximately 11:24 local time. The aircraft's landing gear broke off due to the hard landing.

Footage recorded from the scene and inside the plane during the landing shows the aircraft skidding to a stop after the hard landing and subsequent vibrations. A major disaster was averted as the plane did not veer off the runway and no fire broke out. Passengers on board were safely evacuated and brought to the terminal, while numerous fire trucks were seen dispatched to the scene.

In a press statement issued by Phuket Airport authorities following the incident, it was reported that the 131 passengers and 7 crew members on board were safely evacuated and that no injuries occurred during the incident.

Following the incident, the only runway at Phuket International Airport was temporarily closed to flights for security reasons. Flight operations at the airport were suspended for approximately 5 hours to allow for the removal of the aircraft from the runway and to conduct safety inspections.

Authorities announced that some flights were delayed while the runway remained closed, and some aircraft were diverted to alternative airports.

In a statement released by Air India Express, it was noted that initial investigations indicated a technical issue occurred with the nose wheel during landing, and that a detailed investigation into the incident has been launched.