Thai Airways International (THAI) revealed that it had encountered problems with landing gear on its Airbus A330-300 fleet prior to Sunday night’s landing mishap.
Part of the landing gear had also been subject to an aviation watchdog warning.
On Sunday THAI A330-300 veered off the runway after landing at Suvarnabhumi airport on Sunday, injuring 40 people.
THAI executive vice-president for the technical department, Flt Lt Montree Jumrieng, said Wednesday that preliminary testing showed the accident was the result of a defective bogie beam on the aircraft’s landing gear. He said the faulty part caused the gear to collapse about 1km down the runway.
This group of aircraft is due to be decommissioned between next year and 2017.
THAI senior executive vice-president Chokchai Panyayong said the landing accident had caused serious damage to the aircraft.
The plane was removed from Suvarnabhumi’s eastern runway about 3.30pm Wednesday, and the runway was reopened at 8.10pm.
THAI president Sorajak Kasemsuvan had conducted a ceremony to pray for the smooth removal of the plane Wednesday morning after heavy rain delayed salvage efforts on Tuesday night, the Bangkok Post reported.
