A Thai Airways A330-300 stopped operations at Thailand’s Khon Kaen airport after its nose wheel became stuck in soft ground when the crew was attempting to make a U-turn.
Thai Airways confirms the aircraft left the tarmac while making the U-turn prior to departure for Bangkok at
Khon Kaen’s single runway has no taxiways. This requires departing aircraft to taxi to the runway’s end and execute a U-turn before taking off.
None of the 248 passengers or 14 crew suffered injuries. They exited the aircraft via air stairs.
In a call with Flightglobal, Thai was unable to confirm the aircraft’s registration number, but images posted on social media indicate the aircraft involved in the incident is HS-TEG. The carrier was also unable to provide details about damage, if any, to the aircraft.
Flightglobal’s Ascend Fleets database shows that HS-TEG was delivered in 1995. It is powered by powered by Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines and is owned by Thai. It is scheduled to be parked in June 2015.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
