The Kuching International Airport re-opened after a six-hour closure following the crash-landing of a cargo carrier early this morning.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) general manager (corporate communications) Norliza Kamaruddin confirmed resumption of the airport's operations after the 5.52am mishap, Bernama reported.

Departures and arrivals of 16 Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and 14 AirAsia flights were delayed when the airport was temporarily closed after the Boeing B737-200 plane belonging to Gading Sari Aviation Services Sdn Bhd crash-landed and was stuck in the middle of the runway.

It was made known that the aircraft operated as a mail courier for Pos Malaysia Bhd and was flown by an Indonesian pilot, only known as Capt Hartono.

He took off from the KL International Airport in Sepang at 4am, carrying letters and parcels of Pos Malaysia Bhd and newspapers.

Tyres came off

The plane with four people on board, crashed on the grass area and veered off about 1,000m between the runway and taxiway, MAHB said in a statement.

Deputy Transport Minister Douglas Uggah Embas said the two rear tyres of the aircraft came off upon crash-landing.

Also damaged were the engine compartment and the right wing of the aircraft due to the impact of the emergency landing.

"Fragments of the tyres, splinters of engine parts and the right wing were scattered on the runway, forcing the airport authorities to close the airport for clean-up work and to remove the aircraft from the runway," he told reporters after being briefed on the incident.

According to Department of Civil Aviation director-general Kok Soo Chon, no human casualties were reported.