The closure of Mae Fah Luang international airport in Chiang Rai has been extended until noon Friday while efforts continue to remove the Nok Air plane that veered off the runway and became mired in mud while landing on Saturday night, Airports of Thailand (AOT) announced on Wednesday.
The announcement said that about noon on Tuesday the work team was able to move the aircraft about 6 metres from where it had sunk into the rain-soaked ground.
However, the main landing gear on the left side then unexpectedly sank deep into the ground again. The removal team found that the ground had subsided following more heavy rain overnight.
It was agreed that more heavy moving equipment was needed. It would take some time to bring the machines to Mae Fah Luang airport.
Therefore, the airports authority decided to extend the airport closure until 12 noon on Aug 5.
The airport had earlier closed the airport from 6am on Aug 1 to 10pm on Aug 3 to allow removal of the plane from the runway area.
