2 min readUpdated: Mar 11, 2026 02:02 PM IST
An aircraft operated by Air India Express on its Hyderabad-Phuket route encountered a nose-wheel problem after landing at Phuket International Airport on Wednesday, the airline confirmed.
Following the incident, airport authorities temporarily halted flight movements as the aircraft remained on the runway, sources said.
The Boeing 737-Max8 aircraft was operating flight IX 938 from Hyderabad, though the exact number of passengers on board was not immediately available.
Phuket International Airport has been closed.
An Air India Express flight from Hyderabad made a hard landing damaging the aircraft’s nose landing gear.
The airport is now closed to traffic.
“We confirm that our Hyderabad-Phuket flight on 11 March experienced an issue with the… pic.twitter.com/GhoJ5zIWHJ
— AviationCrazy (@aviation_on_x) March 11, 2026
News agency PTI quoted Air India Express as saying, “We confirm that our Hyderabad-Phuket flight on March 11 experienced an issue with the nose wheel at Phuket Airport.” The nose wheel forms an essential part of an aircraft’s landing gear system.
According to flight-tracking platform Flightradar24, the flight departed Hyderabad at 6:42 am, slightly later than its scheduled 6:20 am departure. It landed at Phuket International Airport at 11:40 am local time.
The airline added that the crew followed all required procedures and passengers were safely deplaned after the aircraft came to a halt. Visauls of the incident showed smoke coming up from the nose wheel section of the aircraft.
