Small Accident at Suvarnabhumi Airport

A minor accident on the runway at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok left over 150 passengers stranded on board a Thai Airways International flight for almost two hours.

The accident occurred when the Air-bus A380 airplane clipped the edge of the airport hanger, resulting in a small amount of damage to the wing tip. The flight was therefore delayed for almost two hours before being allowed to take off.

The flight was a return flight to Thailand’s northern city of Chiang Mai. None of the passengers were hurt.

The president of Thai Airways, Apinant Sumanaseranee, said it was unlikely the accident was the fault of the pilots. Instead he suspected that the ground markings were incorrect as they had been made to accommodate different airplanes. The wingspan of the A380, which is a large sized passenger jet, is 79.8 meters.

Thai Airways has placed orders for six more of the jets, the first of which is scheduled for delivery in 2010.

The jet’s flight pilot, Captain Terry Lutz said that he thought the accident was a result of miscommunication with the ground staff. He said the incident happened while the plane was being towed to the taxi-way.

In order to get the plane ready for take off again, airport staff removed the jet’s winglets, which were damaged in the accident. The winglets are designed to help the airplane save fuel and are not a necessary safety measure.

The aircraft is on loan to Thai Airways and in the middle of a tour of Asia. When it has finished ferrying passengers in Thailand, it will fly to Hanoi, Hong Kong and Seoul.