NEW DELHI: An Air India Express flight from Hyderabad with 133 passengers onboard made a hard landing at Phuket International Airport on Wednesday, causing significant damage to the aircraft’s nose gear.
Following the incident, airport authorities issued a temporary NOTAM and closed the runway while the situation was being assessed.
“We confirm that our Hyderabad-Phuket flight on 11 March experienced an issue with the nose wheel at Phuket Airport. The crew followed all standard protocols, and passengers were safely deplaned,” Air India Express said in a short statement.
India’s aviation sector has experienced several significant accidents over the decades, which have led to major safety reforms and improvements in aviation oversight.
An Air India Express flight from Hyderabad carrying 133 passengers makes a hard landing at Phuket International Airport in Thailand, resulting in significant damage to its nose gear. Following the incident, airport authorities have issued a temporary NOTAM closing the runway. pic.twitter.com/FRMELHqrkF
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) March 11, 2026
In June 2025, an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed just seconds after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad while flying to London.
The plane struck a building near the airport, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 people on the ground, making it one of the deadliest aviation disasters in India.
In August 2020, a repatriation flight operated by Air India Express overshot the runway at Calicut International Airport in Kozhikode during heavy rain. The aircraft broke apart after falling into a valley, killing 21 people.
Another Indian aviation accident occurred in May 2010 when a Dubai–Mangalore flight overshot the runway at Mangalore International Airport. The crash killed 158 people.
An Airbus A320 operated by Indian Airlines crashed while attempting to land at HAL Airport, killing 92 people.
The incident led to improvements in pilot training and aircraft operating procedures.
A Boeing 737 operated by Alliance Air crashed in a residential area while approaching Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport in Patna, killing more than 50 people.
These incidents prompted Indian aviation authorities to tighten safety regulations, improve pilot training standards, and upgrade airport infrastructure, especially at challenging “tabletop” runways like those in Mangalore and Kozhikode.
