14 injured as Thai Airways plane skids off runway at Bangkok airport

PanARMENIAN.Net - A Thai Airways plane carrying more than 280 people skidded off the runway while landing at Bangkok's main airport, injuring 14 passengers, the airline said Monday, Sept 9. It was the second mishap in less than two weeks for Thailand's national carrier, The Associated Press reports.

The Airbus A330-300 that departed from Guangzhou, China, had a "glitch" in its wheel base while landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport late Sunday, the airline said. Photos taken after the incident showed deep furrows from skid marks in a grassy area off the runway leading to the stalled aircraft, resting with its nose down and emergency slides inflated.

"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," Thai Airways President Sorajak Kasemsuvan said in a statement Monday.

"The captain took control of the aircraft until it came to a complete stop and passengers were evacuated from the aircraft emergency exits," he said.

Most of the injuries occurred as passengers evacuated the aircraft, the statement said.

The aircraft was carrying 288 passengers and 14 crew members. The airline said on its Twitter account that the 14 injured passengers were sent to hospitals.

Officials said the runway at Suvarnabhumi Airport will be temporarily closed.

After the accident, workers on a crane blacked out the Thai Airways logo on the tail and body of the aircraft.

The incident occurred less than two weeks after 20 passengers were injured when a Thai Airways Airbus A380 hit severe turbulence as it was descending to Hong Kong's airport.

In July, one of Asiana's Boeing 777 planes with 307 people aboard crash-landed at San Francisco's airport, killing three and injuring more than 180.