This is the dramatic moment a military plane crash landed by skidding along the nose after the front wheel failed.

The Thai Royal Navy jet had flown from Chonburi province in the east of Thailand to Narathiwat Airport in the south when it approached the runway shortly before 2pm.

However, when the pilot began his descent and opened the landing gear, the front wheel remained jammed.

He continued the descent with 12 passengers onboard - while alerting the control to the wheel failure. The pilot then expertly touched down while balancing on the wheels below the undercarriage.

The Fokker F-27 MK 200, made in the Netherlands, then skidded for several hundreds metres as the nose scraped along the tarmac runway as fire crews rushed to assistance.

Vice Admiral Prachachat Sirisawat, the Navy spokesman, praised the pilot for performing the emergency landing.

He said the pilot, Lieutenant Commander Chatchawal Prasitwet, the commander of Squadron 102, and his co-pilot had tried to fix the fault while in the air but then proceeded with an emergency landing.

The Navy chief added: ''The Royal Thai Navy wishes to express appreciation to the pilots for their use of their knowledge and skills. They controlled the aircraft in an emergency situation and were able to steer the plane to land safely.

''They ensured that all passengers were safe and the aircraft, which is government property, did not suffer too much damage.''