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Air India Express 737 MAX 8 hard‑lands at Phuket; nose‑gear collapses, runway closed

An Air India Express Boeing 737 MAX 8 operating flight IX938 from Hyderabad to Phuket hard‑landed at Phuket on March 11, 2026, sustaining severe nose‑gear damage and detaching both nose wheels. Phuket Airport suspended runway operations and closed the field, with the runway shut until at least 18:00 local.

Discovered 2026-03-11T01:40:37.686723-07:00 | 2026-03-11T01:40:37.686723-07:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

  • Phuket Airport suspended runway operations until at least 18:00 local after flight IX938's hard landing detached both nose wheels and damaged the nose gear, immediately halting arrivals/departures and disrupting regional schedules.
  • The event involves a Boeing 737 MAX 8 operated by Air India Express; the damage pattern and flight data will be central to safety investigations and any subsequent regulatory or operator actions affecting 737 operations.
  • The incident adds to recent operational disruptions at Phuket and other airports, underscoring the importance of contingency planning for sudden field closures and recovery operations (see earlier Phuket operational incident source:ae02c83a-9ff2-4d42-b4ef-7f7cae152095 and a recent airport closure precedent source:12949aac-5fde-4c36-b03b-1a42dfbac55a).

Reported By

Travel Radar aviation.direct New Indian Express Aviation24 aerospaceglobalnews.com Flightradar24
Sources Tracked
19
First Seen
2026-03-11T01:40:37.686723-07:00
Latest Update
2026-03-16T01:30:32.291039-07:00
Coverage
Aviation

Sources

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