Updated with additional comment from Thai Airways.
The nose landing gear of a Thai Airways Airbus A330-300 aircraft collapsed after the aircraft made a runway excursion upon landing at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport on 8 September.
The aircraft was operating as flight TG679 on the Guangzhou-Bangkok route, and the accident occurred at 23:20 local time, says a company spokeswoman. The 288 passengers and 14 crew evacuated via the aircraft's slides, which resulted in 13 minor injuries.
The spokeswoman could not confirm the aircraft's registration number, but images on social media show the registration as HS-TEF.
"After touchdown at Suvarnabhumi Airport, the landing gear malfunctioned and caused the aircraft to skid off the runway," says Thai in a statement. "Sparks were noticed from the vicinity of the right landing gear near the engine; the matter is under investigation. The captain took control of the aircraft until it came to a complete stop and passengers were evacuated from the aircraft emergency exits. The operation was conducted by the captain and cabin crew strictly according to emergency procedures."
Images found on social media platforms appear to show that the front landing gear collapsed during the incident, and that the cowling of the aircraft's left side Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine was damaged.
The images indicate that only the aircraft's left hand slides were deployed, which is consistent with concerns of fire on the aircraft's right engine. The images also show what appears to be fire retardent foam beneath the aircraft's right wing, and emergency personnel in protective gear around the right engine.
© Twitter user @MalengSaab
© Twitter user @bullrockey
The spokeswoman was also unable to comment on weather conditions at the time of the accident, but social media images suggest it was a clear evening.
Flightglobal's Ascend Online Fleets database shows that the aircraft's serial number is 066, and its build year is 1995. The aircraft is owned and managed by Thai.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
