TAIWAN — A Scoot aircraft that landed at Taiwan Taoyuan Airport in the early morning of Monday (19 June) was found to be missing its left nose wheel.
Flight TR897 operated by Scoot Airlines, originating from South Korea and bound for Singapore, arrived at Taoyuan Airport from Incheon Airport at 12:02 a.m. on Monday.
During the post-landing inspection, it was discovered that the entire left nose wheel tire was missing, leaving only the right tire intact.
According to Taiwan News, abnormalities in the tire pressure of the nose gear were detected by sensors before landing.
Upon touchdown, the left tire and metal rim on the nose gear were sheared off, leaving the aircraft solely supported by the right nose tire to maintain stability and movement.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
Due to the ongoing wait for repair parts, the scheduled flight of the aircraft to Singapore was delayed.
Passengers on the affected flight were given the option to go through customs and wait in one of the seven local hotels or change their travel plans and book an alternative flight.
Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材), Taiwan’s Minister of Transportation and Communications, stated that the incident resulted from a maintenance-related issue. The Civil Aeronautics Administration and other government agencies will conduct an investigation.
Scoot Airlines apologised for the incident
Scoot Airlines confirmed the occurrence of the technical failure on flight TR897 when queried by the Singaporean Chinese media outlet Lianhe Zaobao.
The spokesperson expressed sincere apologies for the inconvenience and disruption caused, reaffirming that the safety of passengers and crew members remains Scoot Airlines’ top priority. They assured continued assistance to affected passengers.
Scoot Airlines arranged another flight, TR897D, to transport the affected passengers to Singapore at 8:45 p.m. on Monday.
The airline advised passengers residing in Taiwan to return home and provided accommodation or ticket refunds to other passengers. They also offered assistance to passengers who were originally scheduled to transfer to Singapore.
