A Moscow-bound Boeing 777-300ER Aeroflot Airlines plane with 346 people onboard made an emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Monday night following a landing gear problem.
The Moscow-bound flight left Phuket Airport at 3.20pm on Monday and circled above the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand for five hours before seeking an emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
There were reports that after takeoff, the nose gear of the plane retracted but its cover failed to close. The pilots then circled the plane over the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand to burn off fuel before landing the plane safely at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 9.11pm.
Aeroflot said that 15 crew members and 331 passengers would stay at a hotel outside the airport pending a substitute flight.
