Broken landing gear cited as cause for THAI accident
The initial investigation into the accident that saw a THAI aircraft skidding off the runaway while trying to land at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport on Sunday has revealed it was caused by a problem with the back right landing gear.
Department of Civil Aviation director general Voradej Harnprasert said this caused the plane to lose balance and skid off the runway. The slide resulted in the engine on the right wing to make contact with the ground, causing sparks and fire at the body of the plane.
He said the black box would be checked to identify the exact details of the incident. Flight TG 679 from Guangzhou in China with 288 passengers and 14 crew members on board was about to land when it slid off the runway at about 11.20pm Sunday night.
The captain managed to stop the aircraft and passengers were evacuated safely. Thirteen people suffered minor injuries.
THAI president Sorajak Kasemsuvan said earlier that the flight had left Guangzhou at 9.25pm local time and arrived at Suvarnabhumi at 11.20pm.
Meanwhile Rawewan Netrakavesna, the airport’s general manager, said the eastern runway had been closed and the aircraft remained in the spot where it left the runway. Airports of Thailand (AoT) may consider diverting some flights to Don Mueang Airport to ease congestion.
She said an investigative team from the Civil Aviation Department had already arrived the scene to investigate.
Rawewan said the airport would evaluate the damage to the runway, but believed it could be fixed in one day.
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