Thai Airways today denied that a tyre on a flight from India had exploded, but said the Airbus 330 made an emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi airport because two tyres had low pressure.
Earlier local media reports had said one of the tyres had exploded during the landing, but Thai Airways International (THAI) president Sorajak Kasemsuvan denied it.
"The plane tyre did not burst or explode on landing as reported but the left and right front tyres had low pressure," Sorajak said.
After the twin-engine Airbus 330-300 aircraft left Kolkata at 2.48 am with flight TG 314, crew members discovered one of the two front tyres was under-inflated.
The crew members requested permission to make an emergency landing as they approached Suvarnabhumi airport at 6 am, he said.
After the plane landed, ground crew and engineers discovered the other main tyre at the front of the aircraft was also under-inflated.
The tyres were changed as the plane sat on the runway, as passengers and crew waited.
All 287 passengers and air crew were safe and they had to wait inside the aircraft for about one hour, Bangkok Post said.
"THAI will investigate the cause of under-inflated tyres because the aircraft had to be inspected in accordance with international standards before leaving the (Indian) airport," Sorajak said.
