‘Sudden braking’ blamed for Azur Air incident

The Airports of Thailand Phuket branch, which operates Phuket International Airport has issued a statement about the incident, which saw the Boeing 767-300ER come to a shuddering halt on the runway at about 5pm on Saturday.

The plane was bound for Moscow with 309 passengers and 12 cabin crew on board. The aircraft was brought to a stop and all people on board were safely evacuated. No people were reported injured in the incident.

The announcement, by the Special Affairs and Public Relations Division, Administration Department, at Phuket Airport, said that the Air Control Tower, operated by Aerothai, had noticed smoke on the right engine of the aircraft and contacted the pilot to enquire about the cause.

The pilot requested abort takeoff due to sudden braking, the announcement said.

The braking system of the right wheelbase of the aircraft had failed, it added.

Of note, the announcement made no mention of flames coming out of the right engine, as seen in photos of the aircraft while it was still on the runway.

It took about 40 minutes to move the aircraft off the runway, and when the aircraft was on the taxiway it could not be moved further, the announcement said.

The aircraft blocking the taxiway obstructed other aircraft from taking off or landing while repairs were made to the aircraft.

The obstruction of the taxiway resulted in delays in aircraft arriving to land at the airport. Some aircraft were kept in holding patterns, some were flown to Krabi airport and Suvarnabhumi Airport. In total 16 airlines were affected, the announcement said. 

“After Phuket Airport was aware of such events it was not complacent in the event that happened by carrying out the relevant parts and coordinating with the airline to hurry up repairs the aircraft in order not to impede the taxiway quickly,” the announcement added.

“The airline completed the repair of the aircraft at 00:10 and was able to move the aircraft out of the taxiway at 00:30 on February 5, 2023,” the announcement confirmed.

This is to build confidence among all stakeholders. Airports of Thailand will investigate the cause of the incident for safety and management [of airlines] to strictly comply with national and international standards,” the statement concluded.