Air India Express 737 MAX Hard Landing Damages Nose Gear, Closes Phuket Runway

PHUKET, Thailand — An Air India Express Boeing 737 MAX 8 suffered a hard landing at Phuket International Airport on Tuesday, damaging the nose landing gear and forcing a seven-hour runway closure.

Flight IX938 from Hyderabad touched down hard on Runway 09 around 11:40 a.m. local time, causing both nose wheels to detach during a bounce on the second touchdown. All 138 people aboard — including 130 passengers, two infants and six crew members — were safely evacuated onto the runway and bused to the terminal. No injuries were reported.

India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation is coordinating with Thai authorities to investigate the incident, which may involve pilot error or mechanical failure. Operations resumed Wednesday morning after the aircraft was towed and nose wheels reinstalled. Phuket's runway has previously been noted by pilots as challenging due to upslope perception issues, particularly during afternoon thermal conditions.