THAI plane slides off runway, all passengers safe

MAE HONG SON: -- A domestic flight of Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) slid off a runway of the Mae Hong Son Airport in the North of Thailand this afternoon, but all passengers were safe.

The THAI flight, TG 198, encountered a technical problem at one of its front tyres which failed to span out when the plane was just touching on the runway, causing the plane to slide off the runway with a loud noise and a spark.

However, all the 25 passengers on board managed to scramble out of the plane safely via emergency gates with the assistance of the airport's staff.

Some of them were screaming with panic.

The airport's fire engines and ambulances rushed to the scene to cope with a possible fire, which did not take place.

An investigation on the cause of the incident is on progress.

--TNA 2004-08-07

Update:

Travellers in panic in runway drama

MAE HONG SON: -- A THAI Airways flight had to carry out an emergency evacuation of passengers today when its front landing gear collapsed during a landing in northern Thailand, but no-one was hurt, the airline said.

Flight TG198, an ATR-72 aircraft with 28 passengers and four cabin crew on board, encountered the problem as it was landing at Mae Hong Son on a regularly scheduled flight from Chiang Mai.

Mae Hong Son is a popular tourist destination near the border with Burma, 650km north-west of Bangkok.

"As the aircraft's nose gear had collapsed, the pilot-in-command initiated safety procedure and evacuated all passengers from the aircraft, with no injuries," said the airline.

A report by the state Thai News Agency said the landing gear failure caused the plane "to slide off the runway with a loud noise and a spark", and that several passengers had screamed in panic.

Thai Airways said a technical team had been sent to the scene to investigate the cause of the accident.

It said ground transport was arranged for passengers who had been scheduled to make the return flight to Chiang Mai.

--Agencies 2004-08-08