View Full Version : One-Two-Go:Cash & Crash-Strapped!
Does Orient Thai Airlines have any official inflight magazine and aircraft postcard ? Tried to contact the airline but the airline did not reply to enquiries. Besides, its One-Two-Go web-site flight schedule engine is not working. Cannot check flight schedules.
Wisarut
12-06-05, 10:51 PM
I DOn't thinjk so since my mom who has taken a flight on Orient Thai to Hat Yai has NEVER be able to pick up the on light magazine from Orient Thai :mad:
You mean Orient Thai has no inflight magazine ?
jpatokal
13-06-05, 12:26 AM
You mean Orient Thai has no inflight magazine ?
Correct, they're very much a bare-bones airline (like Air Asia, but incompetent).
Speaking of incompetent airlines, I spotted a Phuket Air 747 sitting around on the tarmac of the domestic bit of Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport last week...? :confused:
Flysiam
17-06-05, 12:36 AM
Orient Thai does indeed have an Inflight magazine... I think there are 4 issues out as of this date. It is titled One Two Fly. Original eh? yeah right.
jpatokal
17-06-05, 10:15 AM
Speaking of incompetent airlines, I spotted a Phuket Air 747 sitting around on the tarmac of the domestic bit of Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport last week...? :confused:
And one of the Thai Sky Lockheeds at Kuala Lumpur. Have they started flying already? :confused:
Answer to self after a bit of Googling: yes (http://www.ttgasia.com/ttg/2005/0520/news/news4.xml). No sign of a website or such trivia as, say, flight schedules, destinations or prices though...
Answer to self after trying the obvious: they do have a site after all. More in the appropriate thread (http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?p=5024).
Orient Thai Airlines and One-Two-GO, are they the same on international routes ? Is the inflight magazine One-Two-FLY the same on international routes ? Does One-Two-GO fly to Guangzhou ? I am confused by Orient Thai.
Hi, Bangkok,
How many hours of check-in time are allowed for an Orient Thai flight to Guangzhou ? Does Orient Thai allow last-minute booking, half an hour before a flight ?
jpatokal
17-07-05, 05:29 PM
Same company, different brands. As far as I understand One-Two-GO is the domestic LCC brand and Orient Thai is what they use for international flights.
jpatokal
17-07-05, 05:31 PM
Standard answer for any airline (except the US) is one hour before departure. And sure, they'll sell you a normal ticket if there's space before the flight closes (= stops accepting checkins), or a standby ticket right after if you've signed up for the waitlist.
Is Orient Thai on international routes a LCC ? On its international routes, does Orient Thai use a different inflight magazine or the same One-Two-FLY ?
jpatokal
09-04-06, 04:51 PM
I thought Orient Thai was teetering with one leg in the grave, but nay, looks like they just bought a new plane (http://www.luchtzak.be/article11467.html). Although maybe "new" is the wrong word for a 20-year-old workhorse (http://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-b747-23637.htm) delivered to JAL (http://www.jal.co.jp/aircraft/aircraft/jal_01.html) in 1986...
Plane fanboy note: the "747-146BSR-SUD" model in question is one of only two ever built. With 533 seats it had the largest passenger capacity in the world until 1991, when the 747-400D (also custom-built for JAL) squeezed in 30 more seats to get 563. Some more info (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_747#747SR) on Wikipedia.
Although maybe "new" is the wrong word for a 20-year-old workhorse delivered to JAL in 1986...Yes, but on the other hand, the average age of their jumbos is 27 years (http://www.airfleets.net/ageflotte/?file=calcop&opp=Orient%20Thai%20Airlines).......
jpatokal
06-05-06, 11:33 PM
Bangkok Post's original report has gone poof, so here's Luchtzak (http://www.luchtzak.be/article11609.html):
A report in the business section of today's Bangkok Post www.bangkokpost.com stated thet the domestic arm of Orient Thai-One to Go was to be floated and apply for it's own operating licence and adapt the IATA code of OG in place of OX used by Orient Thai.
Six more MD-82 jets were to be acquired-four arriving by the end of 2006.
Four new routes were announced-Bangkok to Phitsanulok,Nakhon Si Thammarat and Krabi,and Hat Yia to Phuket."
MD-82? I guess they're too dodgy even for Indonesia these days... and true to the form of the sole airline I will not fly again, here's a bouquet of roses (http://phuket-post.com/article.php?id=200&ppsess=3bb75f9b577cfdd3a77f4e098fc53251) from Phuket:
A source from Orient Thai’s Phuket office told Phuket Post that the Korean passengers were told to disembark from the airplane after the pilot and staff discovered a fault. After an hour, engineers were forced to admit that they could not fix the problem because they did not have necessary spare parts. ... We did not know that there was more than one technical problem with the airplane."
mdechgan
09-05-06, 12:20 PM
Orient Thai's planes are in horrible shape. Anyone can go to Don Muang and look for yourselves. On the far edges of the airport one can see baby blue B747s parked in horrible shape. Its hard to believe that these planes are serviced to fly. These planes look as if they haven't been washed for years.
Just imagine the service and maintenance these planes are lacking.
jpatokal
09-05-06, 04:52 PM
Very true, and here's the story which explains why I won't fly them again:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?referrerid=75090&t=328206
jpatokal
11-07-07, 11:19 AM
Worst Budget Airline in terms of flight safety in Thailand: Thai AirAsia
Ever flown Orient Thai / One-Two-Go? I'll take Thai Air Asia any day over them!
There is a report of a One-Two-Go plane having some kind of accident at Phuket due to bad weather. Right now I'm not getting good reports on this. The plane was carrying 128 people from Bangkok to Phuket.
TITV is carrying a news report right now. It seems many people may have died. Winesses are talking of wreckage in a field, with most of the plane burned out.
TV reports speak of the pilot warning passengers to expect heavy turbulence on landing. I guess this report comes from the control tower at the airportA plane slides out of runway at Phuket airport, reportedly causing injuries and dead
A budget airline; One-to-Go, slid out of runway and crashed with trees in Phuket airport on Saturday. [Moderator: definitely today, SUNDAY!]
Eye witnesses saw smoke from the ill-fated aircraft, MB 82.
Unconfirmed reports said the accident caused injuries and dead as the aircraft broke into two pieces.
The accident was said to be caused by slippery runway after heavy rains.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30049139
From what I have heard so far, I think we can expect that the majority of those on board are dead. Hopefully, I'm wrong.
Flight OG2691
123 passengers on board plus five crew
At least 30 dead. Casualties sent to Vachira, Mission, Thalang and Bangkok Hospitals
The plane overshot the runway and hit a hill by some accounts. Only the cockpit of the plane is left unburned. No reporters are being allowed near the site, so no TV pictures as yet:
Phuket plane crash
Bangkok Post
A passenger jet of One-To-Go Airlines with 128 people aboard crashed while landing at Phuket Airport in southern Thailand late Sunday afternoon and rescue workers said the death toll could be high.
The plane skidded off the runway after landing and crashed into trees, bursting into fire, said Channel 7 TV.
Initial reports estimated that at least 60 passengers died in the fiery accident.
Airport officials and rescue workers are still working to help the victims from the plane which caught fire after it crash-landed and skidded off the runway.
Authorities said there were 123 passengers and five crew members on board when the plane crashed at about 4 pm Sunday afternoon.
Weather in Phuket has been bad for several days, with thunderstorms and high wind gusts at times.
Casualties are still being accounted for.
Expiring link:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=121720
The local Kamnan (Commune Chief) says that the numbers dead are nearer 30 than 100. Local witnesses believe that the pilot had decided to abort landing due to poor visibility, but hit trees on a hillside while attempting the manouever.
Four non-Thai passengers were on board
Daily flight
OG/OX269 Bangkok Don Mueang (DMK) to Phuket (HKT)
Dep 14:30
Scheduled to land at 15:50
The plane skidded off the runway after landing at Phuket at about 4:00 pm (0900 GMT) and crashed into nearby trees.
The aircraft, which departed from Bangkok, broke in two and burst into flames after the collision. Phuket was hit by heavy rainfall on Sunday.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121719
It's looking pretty bad right now. 5 non-Thais and 16 Thais are known injured in hospital. It is now said there were 77 non-thais and 44 thais on the flight. With five Thai crew that leaves 2 that no one seems to have details on. It rather looks as if the majority of people on board were unable to escape.
"The fire was throughout the aeroplane," said Phuket Deputy Governor Worraphot Ratsrimaa. "We expect that at least 90 per cent of the passengers died."
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121719
Probably taken soon after the 16:00 crash. Bear in mind that accounts say the plane split in two. This part of the wreckage appeared to be within the airport's perimeter fence from the footage I saw:
http://i13.tinypic.com/66xcpcg.jpg
http://i16.tinypic.com/6ccsqy8.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-Two-GO
One entry discussion item says:
Crash - September 16 2007
Is there any confirmation of how many people were on board the plane? The reference used in the Wiki article is saying 5 crew members but CNN is saying 7. Might it be an idea to leave out this information until it's more clear exactly how many were on-board? --81.156.140.223 12:37, 16 September 2007 (UTC)
5 does seem a bit low for flight crew & cabin crew.
OK! I'm told local TV stations are now saying 7 crew.
I haven't seen any emergency call numbers yet. The sites below are currently inaccessible, so it's probably best for the majority of us to use these links at a later date:
English site: http://www.fly12go.com/en/main.shtml
Thai site: http://www.fly12go.com/
PHUKET PLANE CRASH
Bangkok Post
A One-To-Go Airlines passenger jet with 128 people aboard crashed and burned while landing at Phuket Airport in foul weather Sunday afternoon. Rescue workers said at least 66 had died and about 40 were missing, many of them foreigners.
Anchalee Vanichthepbutr, identified by TiTV as a Phuket province official, said "more than 30" passengers were killed.
The plane of the budget airline skidded off the runway after landing and crashed into trees, bursting into fire, she said.
"The fire was throughout the aeroplane," said Phuket Deputy Governor Worraphot Ratsrimaa. "We expect that at least 90 per cent of the passengers died."
"Nearly half the passengers were foreign tourists," said one survivor, Nong Khaonuan. In a TV interview, he, said. "I've flown on many airplanes before and I can say there was something strange about our landing. We seemed to drop down too fast."
There was hope that many survived. TiTV showed two foreigners being carried away to local hospital.
"The plane was landing and slid off the runway. We are rescuing people and carrying injured people to hospitals," said Pol Lt Sokchai Limcharoen, a police officer in the area in an early report.
Chaisak Angsuwan, director general of the Air Transport Authority of Thailand said the aircraft broke in two as it attempted to land at Phuket airport in bad weather.
Chaisak said that there was heavy rain when flight OG269 of parent Orient Thai Airways traveling from Bangkok's Don Muang airport to Phuket attempted to make a landing. Planes in both Orient Thai and One-Two-Go livery use the OG flight identifier.
"The visibility was poor as the pilot attempted to land. He decided to make a go-around but the plane lost balance and crashed,". he said. "The plane then fell onto the runway and broke into two. It is expected that there will be deaths.
"The airplane asked to land but due to the weather in Phuket -strong wind and heavy rain -maybe the pilot did not see the runway clearly," said Chaisak.
Witnesses said the airline was using its usual MD-82 twin-engine passenger jet aircraft, a model of the McDonnell-Douglas DC9. One-Two-Go owned seven such planes, which it used for frequent flights around Thailand, including six each day from Bangkok to Phuket and return.
Airport officials and rescue workers are still working to help the victims from the plane which caught fire after it crashlanded and skidded off the runway.
Authorities said there were 123 passengers and five crew members on board when the plane crashed at about 3:35pm Sunday afternoon.
Weather in Phuket has been bad for several days, with thunderstorms and high wind gusts at times.
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=121720
Two of the cabin crew are reported alive. One of them was an air steward stationed near the tail:
http://i9.tinypic.com/4yu0f38.jpg
1:16,000 map scan of Phuket International Airport vicinity showing shaded hill area south of the runway. (Use magnifier cursor in some browsers to improve image):
http://i16.tinypic.com/66yw6mc.jpg
BangkokPundit
16-09-07, 09:21 PM
Communications Cabinet Minister Thira tells Nation Channel that 69 bodies have been found, but still more bodies inside the plane. He says there will be an investigation, but noted that visibility was affected due to the heavy rain. He also said that Phuket airport was closed and other flights in thea air would be diverted to nearby airports, like Krabi.
Nation Channel also reports 43 people survived and 17 are still missing. 44 of the passengers were Thai and the rest are apparently foreigners although these numbers have been changing.
http://www.phuketgazette.com/news/index.asp?id=5963
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Death toll in Phuket plane crash rises
PHUKET (Nation): Some 60 bodies have been retrieved from the wreckage of a One-Two-Go airplane from Bangkok that exploded and broke in two after it slid off the runway and crashed at Phuket International Airport this afternoon.
Some reports put the death toll at about 80, but this has yet to be confirmed. The nationalities of those on board are not yet known.
A surviving passenger said the plane “landed hard” and “bounced” and then skidded off the runway.
Civil aviation official Chiasak Angkauwan said, “The airplane asked to land but due to the weather in Phuket – strong wind and heavy rain – maybe the pilot did not see the runway clearly.
“The plane then fell onto the runway and broke into two,” he said.
“We are rescuing people from the aircraft… we know now there were 123 passengers and five crew.
“We won’t know what really happened until we hear the black box.”
The aircraft, flight number OG 269, was landing about 3:40pm when the it went into a slide and crashed into trees and walls surrounding the airport.
Eye-witnesses said the impact of the crash caused the plane to break in two and they heard a series of explosions.
Rescue teams and navy personnel rushed to the scene.
So far the passengers who have been rushed to hospital are:
1. Likhit Liengpansakul (ICU
2. Parinwit Choosaeng - ICU
3. Chainarong maharae - ICU
4. Apichart Pata
5. Eric Nileland
6. Cristopher Maken
7. Nong Kaonual
8. Ladda Kaonual
9. Pratin Lienchamroon
10. Sarah (surname unknown)
Well! A drill of sorts, I suppose:
http://www.phuketgazette.com/news/index.asp?fromsearch=yes&Id=5949
Phuket Airport disaster drill hailed a ‘success’
http://www.phuketgazette.com/newsimages/bull982007-5949-1.jpg
[Photo: Phuket Gazette - Emergency medical staff attend to a simulation ‘victim’ as rescue workers carry another ‘victim’ out of the plane.]
PHUKET: The emergency response drill at Phuket International Airport (PIA) on Thursday was a “success”, PIA Director Sq Ldr Pornchai Eua-aree told a press conference after the event.
The drill started at 10 am with PIA air traffic control guiding a Thai Airways International Airbus A300-600 simulating engine trouble in to land.
Once safely stopped on the tarmac, the aircraft was quickly doused by fire trucks and firemen on the ground in high-heat-resistant firefighting suits.
Fake red smoke bellowed from the aircraft’s engine and a simulated explosion boomed across the airport.
Able-bodied passengers were evacuated from the plane using the emergency chutes, while those simulating injuries were carried by rescue workers to medical staff waiting under tents set up on the apron.
Rescue helicopters arrived to airlift “victims” to hospital.
Reporting response times, K. Pornchai said that ambulances from Thalang Hospital, Phuket International Hospital, Bangkok Phuket Hospital and Patong Hospital had all arrived on the scene within 15 minutes.
The exercise was declared over around 10:30 am. By that time, all passengers had been “rescued” and promptly given medical attention by the hospital staff on the ground. The fire was also supposedly put out.
Some 14 agencies worked together in response to the simulated emergency.
After the simulation, K. Pornchai gave a detailed account of the morning’s proceedings.
Stressing the importance of such a drill, K. Pornchai also said that the number of passengers traveling through the airport this year has already surpassed five million, and that the number is expected to reach 5.5 million by the end of the year.
BangkokPundit
16-09-07, 09:52 PM
http://www.phuketgazette.com/news/index.asp?fromsearch=yes&Id=5949
GWR : I heard one of the bigwigs mention the recent drill and emergency staff preparedness. Although, on the survivors (whose recollection might not be the best after the shock of the accident) said it took 10 minutes after leaving the plane for the emergency staff to arrive. This doesn't sound that good although I am sure a later investigation will tell us more.
I don't want to jump to too many conclusions. I'm sure that even a simulation without actual blazing wreckage (as is used in some simulations) would have helped to sharpen up some procedures and highlight some problems for further attention. It looks somewhat less chaotic than the Surat Thani crash about ten years back. (Two big problems at Surat were a water-inundated site and lack of big lighting rigs to assist the rescue process for a night-time crash.)
I imagine that the survivor was talking about ambulances. Fire tenders should have been there much quicker than 10 minutes, given the fact that it obviously happened near (if not within) the perimeter fence. Some footage showed a large part of the wreckage quite close to what looked like the perimeter road, with the perimeter fence cut to allow some rescue access from outside.
This map indicates that there is a main road between the perimeter and the hill to the south of the airport:
http://www.phuketgazette.com/news/index.asp?id=5963
70 bodies carried out of the wreckage so far, with some bodies still trapped inside the wreckage. The expectation is over 90 dead.
jpatokal
16-09-07, 10:46 PM
Wikipedia's got a decent article-in-progress on the crash:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-Two-GO_Airlines_Flight_269
And I wasn't particularly surprised that the crash happened to Orient Thai (One-Two-GO). Based on my own experience (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=328206), which put me off the airline for life, and everything else I've heard they should've been shut down long ago :mad:
The managing director of Orient Thai Airlines which owns 1-2-Go Airlines, told a Thai television station that this is the first accident in more than a decade that the airline has been operating.
Officials at the scene say the plane crashed in a downpour skidded off the runaway and broke into two parts. Survivors described a chaotic situation, trying to escape from windows as fire consumed the plane.
The plane was carrying 123 mostly foreign passengers and five crew members.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121727
They're still saying five crew rather than seven. Those two extra crew members are reported as having survived in some reports. It seems almost certain that the steward stationed at the tail section survived, as a distraught relation was pictured on TV talking to him by mobile at the One-Two-Go ticket counter at Bangkok Don Mueang Airport.
jpatokal
16-09-07, 10:47 PM
And the understated headline of the day:
Udom may have to rethink One-Two-Go strategies (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/16/headlines/headlines_30049145.php)
"May have to rethink" indeed :mad: :mad:
Udom may have to rethink One-Two-Go strategies
Soon as he learnt about a crash of his One-Two-Go airline on Sunday, Udom Tantiprasongchai, founder and also chief executive officer of Orient Thai Airlines, came out to express his regret over the tragedy.
Speaking on television, he extended his condolences to the victims and their families and promised to take care of them. It was quite rare for Udom to come out in the public. For throughout most of his business life, he prefers to shun publicity.
Following the Thai government's implementation of an open sky policy, Udom began to set up his Orient Thai Airlines, a boutique airline company that sought to carve out its niche market.
Orient Thai Airlines relies on Bangkok as a hub, operating charter and scheduled services in Southeast Asia. Its main base is Don Muang International Airport.
Udom is known that closed to military people both in Thailand and Cambodia so that he can run the business well. He also has a regional outlook.
Yet it was off to a rocky start. The airline was formerly known as Cambodian International Airlines. Udom had close ties with the Cambodian authorities. With business problems, Orient Thai ceased scheduled operations on January 9, 1998. But it continues to operate charter services on behalf of Kampuchea Airlines.
However, scheduled operations have since been restarted. It is now wholly owned by private Thai shareholders and has 820 employees (at March 2007).
Three years ago, Udom came up an idea to set up a budget airline based in Bangkok. He eventually set up a wholly owned OneTwoGo Airlines as the proliferation of the budget airlines was fully in vogue. Orient Thai also has a 49 per cent stake in Kampuchea Airlines.
As of September 2007, the OneTwoGO Airlines fleet consists of aircraft 3 Boeing 747100, 1 Boeing 747200, 3 Boeing 747300, 6 McDonnell Douglas MD82 and 1 McDonnell Douglas MD83.
Udom has gone into the airline business because he forsees bright opportunities in the commercial aviation industry.
One Two Go was the first local low cost airline, started the operation between Bangkok to Chiang Mai in 2003. The airline operated as no frill airline ahead of Thai AirAsia.
However, it has not been as successful as Thai AirAsia.
A Phuket bound plane crashed at Phuket international airport amid heavy rain after flying from Bangkok on a budget flight. The aircraft is believed to be a MacDonnel Douglas MD 80 aircraft.
The airline is operating from Bangkok ( Don Mueang International Airport) base Bangkok ( Suvarnabhumi Airport) to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Hat Yai, Krabi, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phuket and Surat Thani.
Udom has also managed to penetrate into the charter flight and establish business contacts with other international airlines. Orient Thai Airlines was Asia's first international charter operator. Along with its subsidiary, Kampuchea Airlines, it provided services to other airlines including Finnair, Lufthansa, LTU and Merpati.
Udom's niche market was the business with the United Nations. Orient Thai Airlines transported refugees around the world for the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM), including returning people to Kosovo from Australia and helping Timorese return to East Timor in 1999 after it won its independence from Indonesia.
Orient Thai became a designated UN carrier, transporting troops for peacekeeping operations worldwide.
Orient Thai aircraft also fly Muslim Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for various clients, including Air India and the Saudi royal family. At the peak of its charter work Orient Thai Airlines' subsidiary operated eight Boeing 747s and seven McDonnell Douglas MD80s aircraft.
As of May 2007, Orient Thai Airlines operates scheduled passenger flights to the following destinations of China, Hong Kong, South Korea.
It is too early to say how Udom might want to restructure his OneToGo airline after the Phuket tragedy. To restore its name, the airline needs to disclose all the facts behind the crash and assure further safety measures.
by Suchart Sritama
The Nation
..........
Meanwhile, the unofficial death toll rose to 88, with 42 persons injured, and mainly hospitalised.
Before leaving Bangkok for Phuket together with many senior officials of the ministry, Thailand's Deputy Minister of Transport Sansern Wongcha-um on Sunday evening said that the airport in the southern province is expected to resume operations on Monday morning, at 6 am.
About 1,000 passengers could not travel after four flights were cancelled: three Bangkok-bound and the fourth for Hong Kong.
..........
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121728
Nearly 100 feared dead in Phuket plane crash
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121719
The One-Two-Go Call Center telephone number is 1126.
Passenger manifest of the Phuket plane crash
(Bangkok Post)
PASSENGER MANIFEST
Flight OG 269, operated by airline One-Two-Go
* denotes those who have been confirmed survived.
1.Mr Werner Adelhardt
2.Ms Uly Alon
3.Mr Alain Bemearon
4.Mrs Brigitte Bino
5.Mr Itzhak Biton
6.Mr Alexius Boerkamp*
7.Mr Jeanmarie Bonachera
8.Mrs Josiane Bonachera
9.Mr Chawapon Boonmeechai
10.Mrs Wanaporn Boonsung
11.Mr Robert Borland*
12.Mr Philippe Bregeard
13.Mr William Burke*
14.Mr Sinchai Chaiarun
15.Mr Jakkapon Chairitinanon
16.Mr Parinyawith Choosang*
17.Mr Alexander Collins
18.Mr Chirstopher Cooley*
19.Mr Jesada Dechakul
20.Mr Colin Denny
21.Mrs Sawitree Denny*
22.Ms Hofit Eliya
23.Mr Christoph Falchetti*
24 Mr Michael Falcone
25 Mrs Mahsa Fatoorehchi*
26.Ms Arisa Fayad
27.Ms Tal Feldman
28.Ms Isabella Freylikhman*
29 Mr Vladimir Freylikhman*
30 Ms Anne Furlong*
31 Mrs Laetitia Gambu
32 Ms Hila Gershoni
33 Mr Saeid Ghayoumi
34 Ms Sansa Ghayoumi
35 Mr Scott Harrow*
3 Ms Madia Hashemi*
37 Mr Parviz Hashemi*
38 Mr Peter Hill*
39 Mrs Susan Howell
40.Mrs Sara Izadine
41.Chawit Jitjamnong*
42 Mr Chowalert Jitjamnong*
43 Mrs Siriphut Jitjamnong
44.Mr Alireza Jodatfar
45 Mr Jahangir Jodatfar
46 Mr Mohammadreza Jodatfar
47 Ms Bethan Jones
48.Mr Simon Jonsson
49 Ms Khatha Kanchanasutha
50 Mrs Ladda Khawnoun*
51 Mr Nong Khawnoun*
52 Mr Nasser Bonab
53 Ms Mehrana Movahed*
54 Mr Abbas Movahed*
55 Ms Mullika Koysin
56 Mr Chakart Kulwanich
57 Ms Pratin Lainjumroon*
58 Mr Thibaud Lamere
59 Mr Sudprasong Laosiriwut
60 Mr Likhit Liengphansakul*
61 Ms Fermina Macaire
62 Mr Henri Macaire
63 Mr Chainarong Maharae*
64 Mr Porrawit Mahasup*
65 Mr Teerayuth Manoorakchinakorn
66 Mr Christopher Markensven*
67 Mr Jacques Marnef
68 Ms Kaninnat Martmuang
69 Ms Wantana Meesang
70 Ms Amnuj Meesil
71 Ms Maryam Taheri
72 Ms Mojgan Mohebbianjedani
73 Ms Fereshteh Mokhlesukhchi
74 Mr Brain Mullery
75) Mr Di Naima
76) Ms Rotem Naouri
77) Mr Magnus Nihler
78) Mr John O'Donnell*
79) Mrs Homeira Omdeekhodaitehrani
80) Mrs Pranee Panyakong
81) Mr Paiboon Phaphan*
82) Mr Sanya Phromarak
83) Mr Rasqul Pourmehr
84) Mr Mahmoud Pourmehr
85) Mr Suchip Prantoon
86) Ms Puengboon Ratnadilok na Phuket
87) Mr Raj Rattanaphon
88) Ms Claudia Rothmann*
89) Mr Clemens Rothmann*
90) Mr Pichai Rueathong
91) Mr Mehoi Safaebtabrizi
92) Ms Cho Safaebtabrizi
93) Mr Hossein Safaebtabrizi
94) Mr Thanavut Saikay
95) Ms Fahimeh Salek
96) Ms Linnea Sandberg
97) Ms Patcharin Sattayapongsaporn
98) Mr Stephen Saunby
99) Ms Busakon Saunjarun
100) Ms Sabine Schumacher
101) Ms Supalak Shueaw
102) Mrs Benchawan Sichaiin
103) Mr Witchupol Singhapol*
104) Mrs Helen Slater
105) Mr Neil Slater
106) Mr Marcel Squinobal*
107) Mr Chatree Suksawas*
108) Mr Somphot Sungkhaphong
109) Ms Jiranuch Suwannarat
110) Mr Farshas Tazhibi
111) Mrs Yajai Thanyakarn
112) Ms Rachel Toland
113) Mr Aaron Toland
114) Mr Apichai Trompronpitakkul
115) Mrs Siriluk Tuptanee
116) Mr Sirikorn Unsakul
117) Mrs Somluk Unsakul
118) Mr Meysam Valaie
119) Mr Benjamin Voigtmann*
120) Mr Francis Weston
121) Mrs Mary Weston
122) Ms Marie Whittington*
123) Mr Stefan Woronoff
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121729
PHUKET PLANE CRASH TOLL MOUNTS
Bangkok Post
A One-Two-Go Airlines passenger jet with 130 people aboard crashed and burned while landing at Phuket Airport in foul weather Sunday afternoon. Phuket deputy governor Vorapot Rajsima said 88 people were confirmed dead.
At least 41 survivors, including 11 Thais, six Irish nationals, six Britons, three Australians, three Iranians, two Swedes, one German and a Dutch national were admitted to various Phuket hospitals. Both pilots are said to be among the survivors. (see updated passenger manifest in our Breaking News section)
"Nearly half the passengers were foreign tourists," said one survivor, Nong Khaonuan. In a TV interview, he said. "I've flown on many airplanes before and I can say there was something strange about our landing. We seemed to drop down too fast."
There was hope that many survived after TiTV showed two foreigners being carried away to local hospital. But the fire that ripped through the crashed aircraft apparently claimed dozens of lives.
The MD82 plane of the budget airline skidded off the runway after landing on a flight from Don Muang airport in Bangkok, and crashed into trees, bursting into fire.
"The fire was throughout the airplane," said Phuket Deputy Governor Worraphot Ratsrimaa. "We expect that at least 90 per cent of the passengers died."
"The plane was landing and slid off the runway. We are rescuing people and carrying injured people to hospitals," said Pol Lt Sokchai Limcharoen, a police officer in the area in an early report.
Chaisak Angsuwan, director general of the Air Transport Authority of Thailand said the aircraft broke in two as it attempted to land at Phuket airport in bad weather.
Chaisak said that there was heavy rain when flight OG269 of parent Orient Thai Airways traveling from Bangkok's Don Muang airport to Phuket attempted to make a landing. Planes in both Orient Thai and One-Two-Go livery use the OG flight identifier.
"The visibility was poor as the pilot attempted to land. He decided to make a go-around but the plane lost balance and crashed,". he said. "The plane then fell onto the runway and broke into two. It is expected that there will be deaths.
"The airplane asked to land but due to the weather in Phuket -strong wind and heavy rain -maybe the pilot did not see the runway clearly," said Chaisak.
Witnesses said the airline was using its usual MD-82 twin-engine passenger jet aircraft, a model of the McDonnell-Douglas DC9. One-Two-Go owned seven such planes, which it used for frequent flights around Thailand, including six each day from Bangkok to Phuket and return.
Airport officials and rescue workers are still working to help the victims from the plane which caught fire after it crashlanded and skidded off the runway.
Authorities said there were 123 passengers and five crew members on board when the plane crashed at about 3:35pm Sunday afternoon.
Weather in Phuket has been bad for several days, with thunderstorms and high wind gusts at times.
Important telephone numbers:
One-Two-Go Hotline 1126
Bangkok Phuket Hospital 076-254421-9
Siriroj Hospital 076-249400
Vajira Phuket Hospital 076-361234
Mission Phuket Hospital 076-237220-9
Thalang Hospital 076-311033
British Embassy's emergency centre 02-3058333
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=121720
If we assume the number of fatalties to be 88, this is already the third worst aviation disaster in the history of Thailand (http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?t=1343), and it might still become the second worst. :(
Likewise, the 3rd/2nd worst crash involving a Thai airline.
Definitely read this report!:
50 Foreigners among 87 killed in Phuket plane crash
Published on September 17, 2007
Eighty-seven people, 50 of them foreigners, were killed when a budget commercial airliner crashlanded at Phuket Airport in bad weather conditions Sunday afternoon, officials said.
Forty-three people survived in the first local disaster for lowcost airline industry since its introduction a few years ago.
One Two Go Flight OG 269 lost balance while touching down and skidded off the runway. The MD82 plane slammed into trees and an earth embankment, exploding and breaking in two, witnesses and officials said.
Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla said 87 people died and 43 people survived. There were a total of 130 passenger and crew on the plane.
Of the 43 survivors, 15 are Thais and 28 foreigners.
The verification of identities of both the dead and injured were far from complete at press time.
Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongchaum earlier said that there were 78 foreigners on board. Tourists from Australia, Austria, Britain, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands were being treated at main provincial hospitals.
A surviving Thai passenger said the plane "landed hard" and "bounced" and then skidded off the runway. Air Transport Department chief Chiasak Angkauwan said, "the airplane requested to land but due to the weather in Phuket strong wind and heavy rain maybe the pilot did not see the runway clearly."
One survivor told of a fast drop in altitude by the airplane and sudden brief jerk upward. He said they plane then crashlanded and exploded. He saw several fellow passengers on fire.
It was not immediately clear if the pilot, who was reportedly killed, was attempting to pull the aircraft up in the last minute when it crashlanded. He had reportedly been allowed to circle the airport to wait for improvement in weather conditions.
An official at the Phuket Airport control tower, who asked not to be named, said the pilot had been told of bad weather conditions, especially very strong winds. Shortly before the illfated flight crashlanded, another lowcost airliner originating from Hong Kong had successfully touched down, he said.
Officials said victims could have died on impact, or from suffocation or fire resulting from explosions. According to an initial account, the plane's fuselage was torn open in the accident, some of the survivors were those thrown out through the opening.
Flight OG 269, approached the Phuket airport at about 3.40pm from Bangkok. Phuket had earlier been hit by heavy rains.
Eyewitnesses said the impact of the crash caused the plane to break in two and they heard loud explosions.
Rescue teams and navy personnel were involved in the rescue operation. Bodies were piled up in the smouldering wreckage. All flights in and out of the Phuket airport have been cancelled.
An Irish tourist, identifying himself only as "John", said he was on board the flight. He and his friend survived with bruises all over their bodies.
"We sat on the 18th row. The weather was real bad and there were lots of unusual noises during the landing. Something was obviously wrong [during the landing]," he said. He and his friend escaped through the emergency door.
Meanwhile Transportation Minister Thira Haochareon said Phuket International Airport was temporary closed after the crash. He said the body of the aircraft hit the runway and was on fire. The air traffic control source said the aircraft's right wing made contact with the runway at the initial stage of the accident.
MacDonnel Douglas MD82 has a passenger capacity of 175 seats, with flight ceiling of 37,000 feet and flight distance of 3,500 kilometres.
AFP reported that the accident was witnessed from the sky. It said Marine Keisel, from Paris, was aboard a plane behind the one that crashed and saw the accident happen.
"When the plane landed it caught fire," she told AFP at Phuket airport. "We could see the fire coming out of it. It was chaos inside my plane."
Authorities say they will not make any assumption regarding the cause of the tragedy until investigation is completed, although bad weather was obviously a problem at the airport over the weekend. An American pilot who landed just prior to the One Two Go plane reportedly told CNN that the landing was one of the toughest he had ever undertaken - indicating that the weather conditions were severe.
Like several other airlines, One Two Go has reportedly undergone manpower changes. The boss of One Two Go and Orient Thai budget airlines, Udom Tantisprongchai, is said to have replaced several of his Western and Thai pilots - allegedly to cut costs and reduce the chance of work disputes with crews with Indonesian and Philippine pilots.
However, authorities insisted it was too soon to presume anything, including whether human errors played a part in the tragedy.
Certain reports said the pilot was given permission to abort the landing in the final minutes.
Communications between the pilot and the air traffic controller and their judgements _ information contained in the black box could shed some light on the tragedy. Some aviation sources said an instruction or decision to land in Krabi could have been taken in extreme weather conditions.
Last night a swarm of media had descended on the office of One Two Go, near the intersection of Asoke and Sukhumvit. With the high death toll and the fact that it took place in the heart of Thailand's tourism industry, the issue of whether or not there were human errors involved could become hot up very soon, the aviation sources said.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/17/headlines/headlines_30049197.php
Useful telephone numbers
Useful telephone numbers concerning the One-Two-Go airline's crash at the Phuket International Airport
Bangkok Phuket Hospital
Telephone: 66(0) 76 254425 Hotline (1719)
Vachira Phuket Hospital
Telephone: 66(0)76 361234
Phuket International Hospital
Telephone: 076-249400
Thalang Hospital
Telephone: 076-311033-4, 076-311453
Phuket Airport
076-351-144
076-351166
One-To-Go hotline Number 1126
085-155-4622
085-911-5092
085-918-3422
02-535-7662
02-504-3227
02-504-3641
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/17/headlines/headlines_30049154.php
See Full Plane Manifest in Next Post:
List of passengers injured in Phuket Airport's plane crash
Update - List of passengers injured in the plane crash at Phuket Airport treated at Siriroj Phuket Hospital and Krungthep Phuket Hospital:
Krungthep- Phuket Hospital
- Witchuhon Singnopon, 25, Thai
- John O'Donnel, 50, Ireland
- Paiboon Pahan, 39, Thai
- Christoph Falchetm, 36, Germany
- Marcel Squincbal, 37, Austria
- Benjamin Zachary Gree, 24, UK
- Peter James Hill, 35, UK
- Claus Benjamin Voigt, 24, Germany
- Clemens Rothmann, 27, Germany
- Ashley Scott Harrow, 27, UK
- Claudia Rothmann, 25, Germany
- Maryau Mirtaheri, 34, Iran
- Claus Benjamin, 24, Netherlands
- Redz, 30, UK
- Hashem Parviz, 40, Iran
- Hasham Madia, Iran
- Movahed Abbas Kiyani, 37, Italy
- Christopher Edward Cooley, 23, UK
- Miss Red, 22, Thai
- Porawit Mahasap, 41, Thai
- William Burke, 23, UK
- Red, UK
- Vladimir, 29, Ireland
- Isabella Freylikhman, 27, Ireland
- Chaolert Jitjamnong, 48, Thai
- Chatree Suksawat, 48, Thai
- Chawit Jitjamnong, 11
- Robert Borlane, 28, Austria
- Mldred Anne Furlong 30
- Menrdhu Kiyan
- Mahsa Fatoorechi
Vajira Phuket Hospital
- Savitri Denny, 35
- Boerkamp, 29 - Netherlands
Siriroj - Phuket Hospital
- ICU
1. Likhit Liengpansakul - ICU
2. Parinwit Choosaeng - ICU
3. Chainarong maharae - ICU
4. Apichart Pata
5. Eric Nihlen (Sweden)
6. Christopher Marken (Sweden)
7. Nong Kaonual
8. Ladda Kaonual
9. Pratin Lienchamroon
10. Sara (unknown surname) (Netherland)
* Foreign names's correct spellings need to be updated.
[/QUOTE]
See Full Plane Manifest in Next Post:
List of passengers injured in Phuket Airport's plane crash
Update - List of passengers injured in the plane crash at Phuket Airport treated at 3 Phuket hospitals:
Krungthep- Phuket Hospital
- Witchuhon Singnopon, 25, Thai
- John O'Donnel, 50, Ireland
- Paiboon Pahan, 39, Thai
- Christoph Falchetm, 36, Germany
- Marcel Squincbal, 37, Austria
- Benjamin Zachary Gree, 24, UK
- Peter James Hill, 35, UK
- Claus Benjamin Voigt, 24, Germany
- Clemens Rothmann, 27, Germany
- Ashley Scott Harrow, 27, UK
- Claudia Rothmann, 25, Germany
- Maryau Mirtaheri, 34, Iran
- Claus Benjamin, 24, Netherlands
- Redz, 30, UK
- Hashem Parviz, 40, Iran
- Hasham Madia, Iran
- Movahed Abbas Kiyani, 37, Italy
- Christopher Edward Cooley, 23, UK
- Miss Red, 22, Thai
- Porawit Mahasap, 41, Thai
- William Burke, 23, UK
- Red, UK
- Vladimir, 29, Ireland
- Isabella Freylikhman, 27, Ireland
- Chaolert Jitjamnong, 48, Thai
- Chatree Suksawat, 48, Thai
- Chawit Jitjamnong, 11
- Robert Borlane, 28, Austria
- Mldred Anne Furlong 30
- Menrdhu Kiyan
- Mahsa Fatoorechi
Vajira Phuket Hospital
- Savitri Denny, 35
- Boerkamp, 29 - Netherlands
Siriroj - Phuket Hospital
- ICU
1. Likhit Liengpansakul - ICU
2. Parinwit Choosaeng - ICU
3. Chainarong maharae - ICU
4. Apichart Pata
5. Eric Nihlen (Sweden)
6. Christopher Marken (Sweden)
7. Nong Kaonual
8. Ladda Kaonual
9. Pratin Lienchamroon
10. Sara (unknown surname) (Netherland)
* Foreign names's correct spellings need to be updated.
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/home/blog_data/28/28/images/passengerlist1low.jpg
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/home/blog_data/28/28/images/passengerlist2low.jpg
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/home/blog_data/28/28/images/blogpassengerlist3.jpg
Ill-fated One-Two-Go aircraft not covered by local insurance
The One-Two-Go McDonnell Douglas MD 82 that crashed in Phuket on Sunday was not covered by local insurance, said Chantra Purnariksha, the head of the Office of the Insurance Commission.
Chantra said it is not yet known whether the aircraft, which was leased by OneTwoGo from a foreign company, is covered by foreign insurance or not, something that the insurance commission still needs to find out.
However, airline companies normally buy insurance to cover both the aircraft in operation and passengers.
Chantra said foreign passengers usually have their own life and accident insurance, but Thai passengers, who are now being treated at local hospitals, will be able to get compensation from OneTwoGo, which will have to pay hospital bills immediately. The airline can claim those costs from its foreign insurers later.
Chantra said that the General Insurance Association had confirmed that OneTwoGo did not have local insurance for the MD 82 that crashed. He added that he will try to find out whether the foreign owner of the MD 82, which had leased it to OneTwoGo, had insurance for the aircraft.
Relatives of the deceased from the accident seeking to claim damages from the provincial insurance office can call 1122 for further information. Payment and compensation will only be delivered after DNA verification checks have been conducted.
By Achara Pongvuthitham
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/17/headlines/headlines_30049153.php
You SHOULD also read this previous report post:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showpost.php?p=17132&postcount=30
Survivor and eyewitnesses tell of the Phuket Airport crash
A One-Two-Go crash survivor said the MD82 aircraft descended at an unusually high speed before it crashlanded at Phuket Airport.
Marine Keisel, from Paris, was aboard a plane behind the one that crashed and saw the accident happen.
"When the plane landed it caught fire," she told AFP at Phuket airport. "We could see the fire coming out of it. It was chaos inside my plane."
Meanwhile David McGivney, 23, from Ireland, was on vacation and waiting to return to Bangkok. When the accident happened he was on another plane, which waited on the tarmac for an hour.
"Nothing was said to us until we saw it on the news," he said.
Asked if he was willing to fly, McGivney said: "Not really, maybe we'll get the bus tonight."
Nong Khaonual, a frequent flyer, said he managed to drag his wife Ladda, who was unconscious, to an emergency door at the back and opened it with the help of other survivors. The 10 survivors then jumped into a ditch.
He said the plane bounced violently before it skidded off the runway and crash into an earth berm. The plane caught fire immediately after it stopped.
Nong said some of the survivors who helped open the door suffered some burns. Most were hurt from the jump into the ditch. Nong tore an earlobe and damaged his shoulder.
He said there was no announcement from the crew that landing could be a problem.
One of Nong's sons-in-law said Nong, his wife and all 10 survivors were seated at the back of the plane, where the impact of the crash was less severe.
Nong's son Thanawat Fongsrisin said his mother injured her head in the jump from the plane. The couple were taken to Siriroj Hospital.
He said his parents went to Phuket to visit his pregnant wife, who is due to deliver next month.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/17/headlines/headlines_30049146.php
See also a slideshow from The Nation:
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/WebEditor/video/275
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/17/headlines/headlines_30049153.php
One-Two-Go has USD300 million insurance policy for each accident
The Orient Thai Airlines has bought insurance for its One-Two-Go aircrafts for USD300 million per each accident, Air Transport Department Director-General Chaiyasak Angkhasuwan said Monday.
The insurance policy covers third-party persons and Orient Thai will initially pay Bt100,000 for funeral cost to each victim, he said.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30049203
Survivors recall chilling plane crash
Canadian tourist Mildred Furlong thought she would be spending a few days sunbathing on the beaches of one of Thailand’s most popular resort islands.
Instead, she found herself groping in the dark in a burning One-Two-Go Airlines plane yesterday, struggling to escape as smoke and flames filled the cabin. A passenger in front of her was covered in flames and another - bleeding from the head - was yelling: “My boyfriend. My boyfriend.”
“As soon as we hit, everything went dark and everything fell,” said Furlong, who was among 42 survivors of the flight from Bangkok. Eighty-eight others died, most of them foreign tourists.
“I felt faint. You felt like you were going to pass out right away,” she said at the Bangkok Hospital Phuket, where she was being treated for minor injuries. “I’ve never felt anything this intense.”
Furlong, a 23-year-old waitress from Prince George, British Columbia, said the plane attempted to land once, ascended and then came down hard a second time and crash landed. As smoke filled the cabin, Furlong climbed through a broken window and onto a wing, where she and others slid to safety.
“It still doesn’t feel real,” she said.
Parinwit Chusaeng, another survivor, told a TV channel that he ran from the plane in panic as fires broke out.
“I saw passengers engulfed in fire as I stepped over them on the way out of the plane,” Parinwit said. “I was afraid that the airplane was going to explode, so I ran away.”
Parinwit said he looked back and saw fires raging in the front and back of the plane. “I saw the plane in flames and there was a lot of smoke,” he said.
Furlong said most survivors waited about 45 minutes before buses came and took them away to hospitals. On the way, one man sobbed uncontrollably but most others just stood in stunned silence, she said.
She eventually met up with her Thai boyfriend, who was on the flight and also survived with minor injuries.
“We looked at each other and we thought our Gods are both looking after us,” she said. “We are so lucky to be alive.”
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121732
Search for crash cause begins
PHUKET - Besides looking for clues as to why the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 veered off the runway and smashed into a densely wooded embankment, rescue workers still have to recover five bodies from the wreckage.
Both pilots were killed, deputy transport minister Sansern Wong-Chaum said, but 42 people survived a crash that is likely to raise more safety questions for the dozens of budget carriers that have sprung up across Asia in the last decade.
Dr Charnsilp Wacharajira, who carried out autopsies on some of those killed, said they died of traumatic injuries to the head, indicating that the impact of the crash rather than the fire killed them.
Thailand's Public Health and Interior ministries issued lists of almost 30 foreign survivors.
Many of those injured had broken legs and similar injuries from jumping from the burning plane, Piyanooch Ananpakdee, a coordinator at Bangkok Phuket Hospital, said.
Five survivors were in critical condition, with burns to 60 per cent of their bodies, hospital officials said.
Fourteen Thais, eight Britons, five Iranians and four Germans were among the survivors, they said.
One-Two-go Airlines flight OG269 was carrying 123 passengers and seven crew members to Phuket from Bangkok, said Monrudee Gettuphan, spokeswoman for Airports of Thailand. There were 78 foreigners on board, she said.
The "black box" flight data recorder has been recovered and much of the investigation is likely to focus on the weather conditions as the plane, flown by Bangkok-based low-cost operator One-Two-Go, was coming in to land.
"We will have to wait for the actual cause of the accident. We will send the black box to the United States. It will take one week to analyse," Mr Sansern said.
Survivors spoke of torrential rain and trees bent over in the wind, and several accounts suggested the pilot attempted to land, but then aborted.
"The pilot tried to bring the plane back up. He started to turn right and made a sharp turn right and then the plane went into the embankment," Millie Furlong, a 23-year-old waitress from Canada, said in hospital.
"I saw the grass and knew we were going to crash. It was very quick."
Udom Tantiprasongchai, chairman of One-Two-Go parent company Orient Thai Airlines, said the pilot was experienced.
"Police will set up an investigating committee to find out what actually caused the accident. What we need to do right now is take care of the injured," he told reporters on Sunday evening. "I'm deeply sorry about this tragic event."
Despite a number of crashes and scares, most recently in Indonesia, analysts say there is no hard evidence to suggest budget carriers are more accident-prone than their full-service competitors.
The deputy governor of Phuket province, Vorapot Rajsima, said the dead included French, German, Israeli, Australian and British nationals.
It is not immediately clear how many foreigners had died, he said.
"One French national has died and two others have been injured," said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in a statement, expressing his condolences to the families of the victims.
He said his ministry was in touch with Thai officials to determine if there were any more French victims, "and if that is the case, we will aid their families."
Israeli military radio reported that eight Israelis were missing and two injured in the crash.
The report was not immediately confirmed by the Israeli foreign ministry.
An Israeli police team specialising in identifying bodies was to leave on Monday for Bangkok, the police said.
Officials said the plane had broken in two when it touched down on the isle, known as the Pearl of the Andaman. (Agencies)
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121735
It is unclear whether the death toll of 88 includes the five known dead bodies still in the wreckage:
Death toll of Phuket plane crash rises to 88
Phuket - Officials said Monday morning that the death toll of the One-Two-Go plane crash here rose to 88.
They said five bodies still remain inside the wreckage of the aircraft.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30049205
Wisarut
17-09-07, 11:04 AM
Latest new - 88 Dead including Captain 43 Injurred 2 bodies are missing
Of 88 dead, 36 had been identified and 9 had been givening to the famileis of the dead passengers.
REF: http://www.manager.co.th/Home/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9500000109480
http://www.manager.co.th/Local/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9500000109507
First 20 confirmed DEAD can be seen heree:
http://www.manager.co.th/Local/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9500000109486
PHUKET CRASH TOLL RISES TO 90
Bangkok Post
A One-Two-Go Airlines passenger jet with 130 people aboard crashed and burned while landing at Phuket Airport in foul weather Sunday afternoon. The death toll rose to 90 on Monday with confirmation that both the pilot and co-pilot died.
There were at least 42 survivors, including 11 Thais, six Irish nationals, six Britons, three Australians, three Iranians, two Swedes, one German and a Dutch national. They were admitted to various Phuket hospitals.
"Five are in critical condition. Some have burns to 60 percent of their body," Bangkok Phuket hospital coordinator Piyannooch Anantakdee told the Reuters news agency.
The pilot and co-pilot were said to be among the survivors, leading to a statement by Phuket deputy governor Vorapot Rajsima that 88 people were confirmed dead. On Monday, the airline said both cockpit crew had died along with most of the passengers in the front part of the MD-82, a twin-engined jet evolution of the popular DC9 workhorse.
...........
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=121720
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/images/20070917/170907_new12.jpg
[Photo: Bangkok Post - Temporary morgue at Phuket Airport]
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/17/headlines/headlines_30049147.php
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/17/headlines/headlines_30049147.php
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121734
Can't help feeling this sort of verbal sparring should largely be going on behind closed doors for the first day or two. I suppose Bangkok Pundit would view this as yet another glaring example of 'Pu Yai-ism':
Govt warns Orient Thai on insurance
(BangkokPost.com) - The Department of Insurance cautioned Orient Thai Airlines this morning that it is fully responsible for compensating victims involved in the crash of Flight OG269 at Phuket, Radio Thailand reported.
News reports have said that Orient Thai has said it carried no insurance on the fatal flight, but promised to compensate Thai victims and their families.
But Radio Thailand's report quoted the Director General of the Department of Insurance, Chanthra Booranarik, as saying Orient Thai Airlines, also known as One Two Go Airlines, is responsible for paying for medical expenses and compensation to all victims of the One Two Go flight.
Mrs Chanthra affirmed her agency will coordinate in expediting aid to crash victims.
She said regulations were clear: Global civil aviation protocol dictates that airlines must properly insure their aircrafts and passengers onboard.
Orient Thai Airlines is reported to have leased Flight OG 269 from a foreign company, and has procured full insurance for the plane and its passengers, therefore the airline is capable of reimbursing air crash victims for medical treatment and other expenses.
Mrs Chanthra added that if passengers involved in the air crash feel that they are being treated unjustly, they are welcomed to contact the Department of Insurance at 1186, the Radio Thailand report said.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121741
BangkokPundit
17-09-07, 12:19 PM
Can't help feeling this sort of verbal sparring should largely be going on behind closed doors for the first day or two. I suppose Bangkok Pundit would view this as yet another glaring example of 'Phu-Yaiism':
That is another aspect of phy-yaiism (very public disagreements between government departments) which I would like to blog about one day. What is odd that last night the Department of Insurance (what on earth do they do?) was interviewed and then Orient Thai CEO was interviewed around the same time. Orient Thai CEO Udom stated that plane was leased from abroad and all insurance was arranged through the leasing. Why on earth the Department of Insurance felt the need to comment, I don't know.
Some people might even feel more confident with a foreign insurer than a Thai insurer as well.
From the NYT (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/16/world/asia/16cnd-crash.html?em&ex=1190088000&en=b1627503d759d5f1&ei=5087%0A):
The South Korean Ministry of Construction and Transportation issued a warning in March 2006 to the international arm of One-Two-GO, called Orient Thai, and to two other low-fare carriers because of “frequent delays and substandard safety measures,” The Korea Times reported.
The ministry said that Orient Thai, which operates flights from Inchon, South Korea, to Bangkok and Phuket, had not updated its safety and operational regulation manuals and that fire extinguishers and oxygen tanks were not in working condition.
“We ordered the carriers to improve the detected items,” The Korea Times quoted an official as saying.
In October 2004, a Boeing 747-200 operated by Orient Thai came within 660 feet of the Tokyo Tower while making its final approach to Haneda Airport, a Japanese newspaper, The Mainichi Shimbun, reported.
The newspaper quoted Orient Thai as saying the plane’s captain had failed to give proper instructions to his crew on landing procedures at Haneda
Phuket Airport to reopen Monday evening: Transport permanent secretary
Transport Permanent Secretary Chaiyasawat Kitipornpaibool said Monday that Phuket International Airport would resume its operation Monday evening.
He said the accident of the One-Two-Go aircraft should not affect operations of other low-cost airlines.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30049219
AOT informs SET Phuket Airport to reopen at 5 pm Monday
The Airports of Thailand Plc Monday informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand that the Phuket International Airport would be reopened at 5 pm Monday.
The AOT informed the SET that airport was closed to air traffic since 4 pm Sunday following the crash of an One-Two-Go aircraft at 3:30 pm Sunday.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30049220
Bangkok-Phuket-Bangkok today:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30049223
http://www.asiasentinel.com/images/stories/smoothgallery/onetwogo.jpg
[Photo: Asia Sentinel]
http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=706&Itemid=35
Low-Cost and High-Risk
Our Correspondent
17 September 2007
Thai air disaster raises concerns about the dramatic growth of budget air carriers in Asia
..........
According to a study titled “Perspectives on the Development of Low-Cost Airlines in Southeast Asia” by Juliana Kim and Tom Baum at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, the low-cost carriers cut their expenses to the bone. Kim and Baum cite the case of AirAsia, undeniably the most successful of Southeast Asia’s low-cost carriers, which is now operating 50 aircraft on a variety of domestic and international routes and has orders in with Airbus for another 150 planes. Tony Fernandes, the Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia and a Virgin Airlines alumnus, has cabin crews cleaning out the planes after they land.
Air Asia turns planes around in 22 minutes at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, keeping them in the air 10 hours per day. AirAsia, according to Kim and Baum, gets 180 landings out of a set of tires compared with 80 for conventional airlines. Pilots are taught to burn 770 US gallons of fuel per hour, compared with Malaysia’s flag carrier, MAS, which burns 1,100 gallons per hour in similar planes. That gives AirAsia the lowest costs per average seat per kilometer in the world, the two write.
It can also mean – and AirAsia as the region’s premier low-budget carrier is not regarded as guilty of such misuses – that in order to cut costs, pilots will attempt to land under considerably lower tolerances. The One-Two-Go crash at Phuket occurred in rain and wind so heavy that trees were bending over, eyewitnesses said. The plane received permission to abort the landing at the last minute, but dropped from the sky and split into two as it smashed into trees and a wall before bursting into flames, news reports said.
http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=704&Itemid=32
Also see previous post for some insights into the cost-cutting of Asian LCCs
Posts in this thread raising concerns over One-Two-Go safety record:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showpost.php?p=17147&postcount=45
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showpost.php?p=17123&postcount=23
Fiery End to Phuket-Bound Plane
Daniel Ten Kate
16 September 2007
..........
Air disaster will raise questions over safety of Thailand’s budget carriers Although it’s too early to determine the cause of the crash, news reports first raised questions about Orient Thai’s safety a decade ago, although they were vigorously disputed by Udom. In 1997, Aviation Department director-general Srisuk Chantrangsu said Orient Thai did not keep clear flight records and failed to conduct emergency training sessions for its pilots, which are required every six months.
Either way, One-Two-Go’s safety record was never specifically questioned, even though reports have surfaced concerning the safety of Thailand’s budget airlines as a whole. Indeed, at the time it was very easy to set up an airline in Thailand as investors needed just 50 million baht in registered capital and the country did not mandate stringent safety requirements adopted in other countries. Moreover, politicians were known to peddle influence to get an aviation license approved.
By mid-2004, the government had issued 23 licenses for scheduled and charter-service airlines, although only nine were in use. The proliferation of airlines led to calls for reform. The required registered capital for an airline company jumped to 200 million baht, but no other serious safety precautions were taken.
Safety concerns came to the fore in 2005 when budget airline Phuket Air faced a slew of troubles. It was banned from flying in England, France, the Netherlands and eventually all of Europe due to serious mechanical flaws with its planes. In Thailand, it had five twin-engine prop planes grounded after one skidded off the runway in Mae Sot, stopping just before it plowed into a nearby gas station.
A Bangkok Post report in 2005 blamed the problems with Phuket Air and other airlines on lax enforcement of regulations by the Transport Ministry and Aviation Department. About 60% of the work on annual aircraft inspections is based on documents sent by the airlines instead of onsite observance, the report said, and the limited staff focused only on planes suspected of having serious problems.
“The department is seriously understaffed, with only seven or eight officials responsible for aircraft safety,” said the Post, quoting a source in the Civil Aviation department.
Moreover, the report said, politicians sometimes urged regulators to bend the rules on inspections, putting officials in an “awkward position.” Unnamed airline executives were quoted saying that many minor safety incidents often go unreported.
The weeks to come will likely shed more light on the reasons for Sunday’s One-Two-Go crash, and the Thai press will surely grill the Aviation Department on any shortcuts it might be taking. For the past year, safety questions swirled around the runway of Bangkok’s newly opened Suvarnabhumi airport, but the airplanes themselves had been largely given a pass.
What’s worse is that the incident may scare away tourists just as the high season is set to get underway. Thailand has been perpetually pounded with bad news for the tourism industry, from SARS to bird flu to the December 2004 tsunami to the bombs in Bangkok last New Year’s Eve. Yet each time, the country has proved resilient.
In the first nine months of the year, passenger volume through Phuket airport had jumped 62.55% year-on-year to 3.37 million, and landings and takeoffs had risen nearly 30% to more than 22,000. Five million visitors were projected for next year.
Now that target may be in jeopardy if authorities don’t act quickly to ensure travelers that Thailand is not another Indonesia when it comes to aircraft safety.
http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=704&Itemid=32
It has been suggested to me that Phuket Airport may not have Doppler radar to detect sudden dramatic changes in wind direction. I can't say for sure whether this is true, or even whether said radar is actually appropriate to detect the changes that may have contributed to this disaster. But it did occur to me that AOT has been so obsessed with getting SBIA up to snuff in the last year, that they may have foregone expensive investments at Phuket in spite of a huge increase in the number of landings in the last year:
Wind shear is top crash suspect
(BangkokPost.com, Agencies) - According to a transcript of the conversation between the control tower and the plane, ground officials informed the Indonesian pilot, Arief Mulyadi, about wind shear at the airport, a senior official has said.
The director general of the Air Transport Department, Chaisak Ungsuwan, said in a local TV intereview that the pilot decided to land anyway.
"The last word the pilot said was 'landing'," said Mr Chaisak, who was one of the first senior officials to arrive at the crash scene on Sunday afternoon.
Wind shear - a sudden change in either wind speed or direction in an aircraft's flight path - can destabilise a plane, as pilots compensate for the condition, which can then suddenly disappear and put the aircraft out of control.
Phuket International Airport has no instruments which can pinpoint windshear, unlike many advanced airports including Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang in Bangkok, where the flight originated.
The head of the airline involved in the crash agreed that wind shear is a prime suspect as the cause of the crash of One-Two-Go Airlines flight OG268.
"It is possible that the plane crash was caused by wind shear," Kajit Habnanonda, president of Orient-Thai Airlines, which owns One-Two-Go.
In addition, heavy rains could have contributed to the plane skidding off the runway.
Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen cautioned that it was still to early to know what caused the crash of the McDonnell Douglas MD-82.
"The officials have found the black boxes and will send them for analysis to the United States," he said. "Hopefully, we will learn in a few weeks the cause of the accident."
Actually, it is more likely to take several months to a year.
According to an AP report, aviation expert Tom Ballantyne, chief correspondent for Orient Aviation magazine, said the pilot had reportedly asked to abandon the landing and circle around again because he could not see the runway, but the plane was already too low.
"It was hit by wind shear or strong winds and he didn't have time to react," he said.
Ballantyne added that the bigger question was whether the airport should have been allowing planes to land in such weather.
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121771
In the following report, they talk of the report from another pilot. I seem to remember that the pilot of the previous plane landing spoke of it being one of the most difficult landings he had ever experienced:
Officials still transcribing conversation tape of One-Two-Go pilot and control tower officer
Transport Permanent Secretary Chaiyasawat Kittipornpaibool said Tuesday that officials are still transcribing a tape record of conversation of the pilot of One-Two-Go flight OG269 with air traffic officer of the Phuket Airport Control Tower before the plane crash-landed Sunday.
Chaiyasawat said officials are still compiling all related evidence, including a tape record of the voice of a pilot who reported air turbulence at the airport.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30049337
Airline defends pilot of ill-fated flight
(BangkokPost.com) – Chairman of One-Two-Go airline, Kajit Hapananont, spoke out to defend the pilot of the ill-fated McDonnell Douglas MD-82 passenger liner which crashed while landing in Phuket, killing 89 people on Sunday, saying he “was not hot-headed by character and had plenty of aviation experience under his belt.”
He also lashed out at speculation of pilot error.
“There was no way of knowing in advance what sort of obstacles lay ahead for any pilot. What do people who have reached their own conclusions on the crash use as facts on which to base their presumptions on? The black boxes are still here and have yet to be sent to the United States for experts to examine.”
“I urge everyone to wait for an official announcement to be made before pointing fingers.”
Yesterday transport authorities said bad weather was probably the main factor in the crash at Phuket airport, but pilot error has still not been ruled out. The pilot, 56-year-old Arief Mulyadi, who also died in the crash, was Indonesian.
“The reason why more than half of our pilots are non-Thais is because not very many can fly an MD plane. We are the only company using this type of aircraft, and that’s why we employ several Indonesian pilots because they have lots of MD’s there.”
“The pilot who flew the doomed aircraft was one of our best. He was very experienced, patient and very decisive.”
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121778
This report suggests the airport fire station response was quite rapid:
Tales of heroism: The unknown Thai
BangkokPost.com from reports
Survivors are speaking of a "saint in yellow" - a reference to a Thai man wearing the yellow shirt that millions of Thais wear at the beginning of the week to honour His Majesty the King.
The Australian press is reporting that Robert Borland, on fire and covered in aviation fuel, was dragged from the blazing wreckage of the Phuket plane crash by a Thai passenger he calls the "saint in yellow".
Speaking from his Phuket hospital bed, where he is recovering from a broken arm, burns to his legs and a back injury, Mr Borland said yesterday he had been saved by a man wearing a yellow T-shirt, worn by many Thais on Mondays, the media in Australia reported this morning.
According to a story posted at News.com.au by Andrew Drummond (http://www.andrew-drummond.com/) and Elizabeth Gosch:
"The Thai man with a yellow T-shirt dragged me out on to the wing. He was like a saint to me," he said.
The 48-year-old, who grew up in Perth, has been living and working in Thailand for 12 years and was on the island on Boxing Day 2004 when the tsunami hit. On Sunday, he was returning to Phuket after travelling to Bangkok and Singapore on business.
"It's impossible to describe how lucky I was," he said.
The story described the crash, and then had this description of Mr Borland's escape:
Although he was suffering a broken and dislocated left arm, back injuries and burns to his legs, Mr Borland, who was sitting in seat 24F, managed to push open the emergency exit window next to him.
"I pulled the hatch but then realised there was an inferno outside, so I pushed it back and fell to the floor," he said.
"I crawled over to the other side where there was another exit and at that time I realised my trousers were on fire. I crawled to the exit door but couldn't raise myself to get out. Then the Thai man with a yellow T-shirt dragged me out on to the wing. I slid down to the ground and saw others coming out of the exit.
"Firemen were on the scene almost immediately, pumping foam. One took my hand and said in English, 'You'll be OK'. I replied in Thai, 'I cannot move, my back is injured'.
"Two other firemen came and dragged me through a drainage ditch, where I was picked up and taken to a local hospital where my wounds were cleaned before I was taken here."
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=121766
Tales of Heroism: The quiet Briton
Phuket (Agencies) - A shy British man is being hailed as a hero for pulling passengers out of the flaming wreckage of the One-Two-Go Airlines crash on Sunday.
Peter Hill, 35, from Manchester, was sitting in row 24A of the One-Two-Go Airlines domestic flight from Bangkok when it crashed and exploded in flames at Phuket International Airport in a tropical storm.
Mr Hill, whose seat was next to an emergency exit, forced it open and dragged several fellow passengers to freedom before looking after his own safety.
Thailand's Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont and Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram visited the Briton at the Bangkok-Phuket hospital yesterday to bring him gifts of flowers and fruit after hearing of his heroism.
After the visit Mr Nitya said: "He is a hero. I believe he pulled two people out at his own risk. He is now doing pretty well, sitting up and smiling."
Mr Hill initially declined all requests for interviews. A hospital spokesman said: "He does not want any fuss."
Last night, as the unofficial British death toll in the crash rose to six, Mr Hill broke his silence to deny he was a hero. He said: "I can't really remember. I might have got to the emergency exit to open a crack but it was Scott (Ashley Scott) who smashed it open."
Thanks to his actions all passengers in Row 24 of the aircraft were saved, but all suffered serious burns in the process.
Mr Hill first dragged out Ashley Harrow who was sitting next to him in Seat 24B. He then dragged out an Israeli couple, Vladimir and Isabella Freylikhman.
The only other passenger in Row 24 was Scots-born Australian Robert Borland, a local property developer.
Mr Hill missed him in the pitch black of the smoke. But the Australian, too, miraculously survived. He said he was dragged out by a "saint in yellow" - a reference to a Thai national wearing the yellow shirt that millions of Thais wear at the beginning of the week to honour His Majesty the King.
A Northern Ireland graduate was one of 89 people confirmed killed in the disaster. He was named as former University of Ulster student Aaron Toland, 22, from Londonderry.
Britain's ambassador to Thailand, Quinton Quayle, said he believed "several British citizens" may have died in the crash. He also confirmed three British survivors were in hospital, one of them in a critical condition.
Mr Hill was among 41 people - including seven Britons - who survived the crash. The number was cut by one after tourist Benjamin Green, 24, from Edinburgh, said he was in hospital for another reason but would not say why.
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=121767
From a Reuters report published by Malaysia's The Star (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/9/18/worldupdates/2007-09-18T093951Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-295930-1&sec=Worldupdates):
Pilot of doomed Thai flight knew of wind threat
BANGKOK (Reuters) - The Indonesian pilot of a budget airliner that crashed on the Thai resort island of Phuket tried to land despite being warned of windshear threats, a Thai air traffic control official said on Tuesday.
Two other pilots had reported dramatic changes in wind speed and direction as they landed minutes before the doomed One-Two-Go flight, which crashed in a fierce monsoon storm, killing 89 people.
"The pilot definitely knew about the windshear because he was on the same radio frequency as the previous two planes," Kamtorn Sirikorn, a senior executive at air traffic controller Aerothai, told Reuters.
"The control tower repeated the conditions to him and he acknowledged them just before the landing. The tape I listened to verified this," he said, referring to the communications between the control tower and the plane.
...........
The Star (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/9/18/worldupdates/2007-09-18T093951Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-295930-1&sec=Worldupdates)
doseiai
18-09-07, 11:16 PM
I totally disagree that low cost carriers are unsafe as compared to regular carriers. I think it depends on the airline far more than if its low cost or not.
Southwest Airlines, the world's first and premier LCC, has never had a passenger death. There isn't another airline worldwide that's flown 5 million continuous flights without a passenger death. Southwest has flown well over 15 million.
Southwest has flown for over 35 years through mountainous regions where tornado, thunderstorm, and hail activity are high. This gives me very high confidence that despite weather, planes are technically designed to handle freak events like this, and that accidents like this happen due to human misjudgement, poor training, bad maintenance, poor adherence to rules, etc.
What amazes me about this report is that I would have thought it would be on the record (or voice-recorded) whether the plane did the go-around again. Airport staff seem incapable of giving a firm answer on this one.
There do also seem to be hugely conflicting reports about the position of the undercarriage and whether the pilot attempted to abort landing. These two latter things are of course something that could well have been due to a rapid change of plan by a pilot experiencing extreme difficulties.
The pilot's son has said that his father often talked about difficult landings at Phuket:
Some important questions answered
Published on September 19, 2007
1. Could the plane have re-ascended when the landing gear was not deployed?
Chaisak Angsuwan, director-general of the Air Transport Department, said he had confirmed that the landing gear was not deployed while the pilot was trying to climb again.
A commercial pilot, who asked to not be named, said it was not possible that the pilot would retract the landing gear while ascending as it was counter to basic flight procedure.
2. How did wind shear affect the landing?
Kamthorn Sirikorn, a senior Aerothai official, said air traffic controllers had informed the pilot about the 40-knot wind shear above the runway. It should have been solely the pilot's decision to land that resulted in the accident. Kamthorn said he was not sure whether mechanical failure or bad weather contributed to the crash.
A weather forecast official said the wind speed at 40 knots was quite powerful but that it was regular, and an experienced and decisive pilot should land the plane safely under such circumstances.
3. Did the plane perform a go-around before attempting to land?
Kamthorn said no confirmation on that was available. But news reports said passengers on board another flight said they saw OG-269 perform a go-around twice while all survivors of OG-269 said their aircraft did not perform a go-around.
4. Did the pilot warn the passengers about poor visibility and a possible go-around before landing?
No, according to the survivors.
5. Did any other flights abort their landing or request landing at nearby airports?
Phornchai Ua-aree, director of Phuket airport, said all flights arriving at Phuket before OG-269 landed as usual, but said he did not remember how many exactly.
News reports quoted control tower records of conversation as saying that all last three flights arriving at Phuket landed as scheduled, before 3.50pm when OG-269 crashed.
6. Is Phuket airport difficult to land at?
The unnamed pilot said the instrument landing system (ILS) at Phuket airport had a technical limitation - it could not fully guide aircraft to land automatically. Pilots are still required to land their planes manually once they fly past a ridge leading to the runway.
And given the azimuth alignment of the runway at around two degrees to the left, pilots are required to compensate their glide path around two degrees to the right, or their planes could possibly over-steer to the left during landing. The over-steering problem is okay if the runway is not wet and visibility is high. But what always follows during heavy rains at Phuket airport is a strong wind shear, which can reposition planes' approach to the tarmac during landing, he said.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/19/national/national_30049481.php
Some systems to detect wind shear were not working at time of Thai crash: Official
PHUKET, Thailand (AP): Half of the systems to detect potentially dangerous wind shear were not working at the time of a crash at a Phuket airport that killed 89 people on board and injured more than 40 others, officials said Tuesday.
The budget One-Two-Go Airlines flight OG269 was carrying 123 passengers and seven crew from Bangkok to Phuket when it skidded off a runway Sunday while landing in driving wind and rain, catching fire and engulfing some passengers in flames as others kicked out windows to escape.
Investigators have said wind shear - a sudden change in either wind speed or direction in an aircraft's flight path that can destabilize a plane - was among the possible causes of the crash.
"Three out of six low-level wind shear alert systems were not working at the time," said Vuttichai Singhamanee, director of flight standard bureau of Transport Ministry's Aviation Authority Department.
Vuttichai said the solar-powered systems - which were out of power at the time of the crash - could have made it difficult for the pilot Arief Mulyadi, to judge whether it was safe to land.
Mulyadi, who died in the crash, had come under fire from some Transport Ministry officials for landing, despite warnings from the flight tower about treacherous wind shear at the airport.
While it is too early to definitively say what caused the crash, Kajit Habnanonda, president of Orient-Thai Airlines, which owns One-Two-Go, also pointed to wind shear as a possible factor.
Kajit also defended the pilot Tuesday as having "plenty of aviation experience under his belt."
Kajit said the pilot who flew the doomed aircraft was one of the best pilots in his firm. (***)
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20070918203547&irec=0
Family mourns Thai plane crash pilot
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Pilot Arif Mulyadi once told his son that of all the places he had flown, Phuket had the worst weather. But it also had the most beautiful scenery from above.
The retired lieutenant colonel was among the 88 people who died Sunday in a plane crash on the Thai resort island of Phuket. The crash occurred as the One-Two-Go passenger plane was attempting to land in heavy rain.
"Father promised to come home to see his grandsons Sept. 28," Arif's oldest son, Agung, told news portal detik.com on Monday.
He is returning home 10 days early, but not for the joyous family reunion that had been anticipated.
Arif's body will arrive from Thailand on Tuesday morning at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. He will be buried at Pondok Ranggon public cemetery, southeast of Jakarta, the same day.
He is survived by wife Lief Farikha; three children, Agung Bayu Hanggono, 29, Windi Hapsari Catu Pratiwi, 27, and Dimas Bayu Prakoso, 25; and two grandsons.
Arif was piloting the McDonell Douglas MD-82 that crashed Sunday. The plane, operated by Thai budget airline One-Two-Go, broke into two and burst into flames on landing, killing 88 people and injuring 42 others.
Chairman of One-Two-Go, Udom Tantiprasongchai, told reporters in Bangkok on Sunday that the pilot was "an experienced foreigner".
Arif, who graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1974, retired from the Air Force two years ago after serving for more than 30 years.
He piloted jet fighters for several years before flying transportation planes, according to son-in-law Lt. Col. (ret) Munir Umar. He finished his service as an instructor at the Air Force Academy.
"He started his pilot career outside the Air Force long before he retired. To my knowledge, he once worked for Star Air and Sempati, among others," Umar told reporters at Arif's home at the Halim Perdana Kusumah Air Force housing complex in East Jakarta.
Arif's wife was in Thailand on Monday to identify her husband's remains and accompany the body back to Indonesia.
"Most of his other relatives are still in Klaten and Yogyakarta. They haven't arrived here," Umar said, adding that Arif was originally from Klaten in Central Java.
Arif worked for One-Two-Go for several years. His wife joined him in Thailand, where the couple lived, while their children remained in Jakarta.
"Ibu (Arief's wife) just returned home two weeks ago. It was a routine visit, visiting her children and grandsons," Umar said.
"Now she is returning here for a different reason."
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/19/headlines/headlines_30049440.php
Last words before the crash 'Request your intention' 'Landing'
Published on September 19, 2007
Revelation of pilot's last word shed little light as it contradicts another report that he wanted to turn back
Before the information is extracted from the black boxes of the ill-fated One-Two-Go plane that crashed in Phuket on Sunday, the dispute over what caused Flight OG 269 to hit the runway and to break in two continues.
Three major parties involved - the budget airline itself, the air traffic control at Phuket airport, and weather forecast officials - are giving conflicting information on what actually went wrong.
After informing Flight OG 269 about the bad weather situation, the airport and runway conditions, which were clear for landing, the air traffic controller asked the Indonesian pilot for a confirmation of his decision, according to Kumtorn Sirikorn, executive vice president of Aeronautical Radio of Thailand.
"Request your intention," the air traffic controller asked.
The pilot 56-year-old Arief Mulyadi replied: "Landing".
This was one of the last words of communication between the air traffic controller at Phuket airport and Arief, who decided to land the ill-fated One-Two Go aircraft.
Shortly afterward, the aircraft crashed and broke into three, killing 89 passengers and injuring 41 others in one of Thailand's worst air tragedies.
Kumtorn provided this account of conversation between the air traffic controller and Arief. He had listened to the tape recording replaying what happened at the critical moment before the aircraft landing.
The revelation, however, is far from the tell-tale evidence of what caused the plane to crash, including whether it was human error. There have been contradictions in accounts regarding the roles of the pilot and the air traffic controller.
Kumtorn told The Nation that the air traffic controller had earlier been in communication about the bad weather conditions with the pilots of Orient Thai Airlines, which successfully landed about four minutes before the One-Two-Go aircraft's crash-landing.
"There was a warning of wind shear from the pilot of the previous flight, which landed four minutes ahead of One-Two-Go," he told Agence France-Presse in a separate interview.
Arief and his co-pilot also listened to this conversation between the air traffic controller and the pilots of Orient ThaiAirlines since their radio receivers were tuned to the same wave- lengths.
They were aware about the rather unusual weather conditions at that moment.
Kajit Habanananda, vice president of One-Two-Go airline, said that Arief Mulyadi, the Indonesian pilot who died, was an experienced aviator and served as an instructor to all 90 pilots including some 30 Thais employed by One-Two-Go.
"He was our number-one pilot. He was composed and well-versed," he added.
Kumtorn said the air traffic controller who conversed with the pilot was experienced and had not been suspended. The unidentified controller was assigned to undergo a psychological rehabilitation course, under regulations after an accident.
The pilot's son told Jakarta-based Tempo newspaper that a senior officer of One-Two-Go Airlines told him that his father had asked to turn back to Bangkok.
Arief Mulyadi once told his son that of all the places he had flown, Phuket had the worst weather, according to the Jakarta Post. But it also had the most beautiful scenery from above.
"Father promised to come home to see his grandsons on Sept. 28," Arief's oldest son, Agung, told news portal detik.com on Monday.
Kumtorn said the air traffic controller told Arief, who was among the dead, that weather conditions were bad.
"Air traffic control asked the pilot whether he knew about the wind shear, and he said he knew. Then the air traffic control official gave him additional information and asked him whether he still wanted to land or not. The pilot insisted he wanted to land.
"Maybe something unusual occurred during his landing attempt."
Kuntorn said nobody knew the exact reasons of the accident and all are waiting for the outcome of the investigation from the black boxes.
Metta Amin, chief of the weather examination unit in Phuket province, said weather conditions at the Phuket airport during the accident were very volatile.
The wind speed suddenly accelerated from 12 knots at 3.30pm to 28-30 knots at 3.42pm, he said.
This happened eight minutes before the crash, before the wind slowed down to 12 knots at 4pm.
Normally his office would update the meteorological information to air traffic control tower every half an hour. But on Sunday between 3.30pm and 4pm, he said his office had to update the weather conditions to the tower four times due to the abrupt changing weather conditions.
The first update was made at 3.30pm. The wind speed was 12 knots and the visibility range was four kilometres. The second update was made at 3.35pm as a result of a sudden heavy downpour which had taken place three minutes earlier.
The third weather update was made at 3.45pm when the wind speed accelerated from 12 knots to 28-30 knots and the visibility range was dramatically dropped to 800 metres at 3.42pm.
"It was an abrupt gusty wind," he said in an interview with The Nation. He added that gusty winds left no time for warnings given to pilots in most cases.
However, Metta declined to comment if the abrupt gusts of wind would affect the landing.
He also denied speculation about the wind shear and microburst. Wind shear is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere, while a microburst is a very localised column of sinking air, producing damaging divergent and straight-line winds at the surface.
The last update was made by Metta's office to the air traffic control tower at Phuket airport at 4pm. The wind speed was 12 knots, but visibility had dropped from 4 km at 3.30pm to only 1 km.
"All the weather information form my office was reported to air traffic control tower and the controllers would then inform pilot," he said.
Udom Tantiprasongchai, president of budget carrier One-Two-Go which operated the doomed plane, admitted the airline bore some responsibility for the crash.
"It is too soon to jump to conclusions, it is unfair to our staff. Please wait until the investigation is finished. But definitely it is partially our responsibility," he told reporters.
One-Two-Go's Kajit said the pilot had been warned about the wind, but urged investigators not to assume that human error was to blame for Thailand's worst air disaster in a decade.
"It's true that there was a warning of wind shear from the previous flight," Kajit said.
"But the wind is constantly changing," he said, adding that such weather conditions were the main factor that would influence a decision on whether to abort the landing.
Chaisak Angsuwan, director-general of the Air Transport Department, said the cause of the crash should not involve the type of the MD82 aircraft, as another MD82 also operated by One-Two-Go airline, landed safely four minutes before flight OG-269.
He said all airlines operating in Thailand were qualified to meet flight safety standards under International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) requirements, whether they were low-cost or luxury airlines.
One-Two-Go will pay Bt100,000 in initial compensatory payments to each of the 123 passengers and provide free flights to relatives of those killed or injured in the crash between Bangkok and Phuket, said government spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp.
He said the information in the two black boxes, each containing the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, would be extracted at the US National Transportation Safety Board within the next ten days.
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont yesterday instructed government agencies to take care of compensatory payments for families of the Thais who had been killed and for the rehabilitation of the 41 injured passengers.
The Consumer Protection Board will make sure each individual insurance coverage will fully benefit or compensate each beneficiary, while the Tourism and Sports Ministry will soon work out solutions to boost tourism and build-up the safety image of travel in Thailand.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/19/headlines/headlines_30049482.php
jpatokal
19-09-07, 10:56 AM
What amazes me about this report is that I would have thought it would be on the record (or voice-recorded) whether the plane did the go-around again. Airport staff seem incapable of giving a firm answer on this one.
Doing a go-around is at the sole discretion of the pilot, no advance permission from ATC required. Obviously the pilot has to sync up with them for the next attempt, but in this case the go-around seems to have failed pretty much immediately, so the pilot didn't necessarily have time to communicate his intentions by radio. What actually happened will probably only become clear when the black box analysis is released.
There do also seem to be hugely conflicting reports about the position of the undercarriage and whether the pilot attempted to abort landing.
Um, a go-around (http://www.salon.com/tech/col/smith/2007/05/04/askthepilot230/index1.html
) is an aborted landing. I presume you mean it is unclear whether the plane actually touched down before attempting to take off again?
There seems to be doubt as to whether the wheels were down for landing. That's the way I read it anyway. My translator picked that up from Thai TV very early on. Some of these reports seem to be saying the same thing. He could of course have retracted the undercarriage as he aborted landing, but I doubt he had the time. But even if that were the case, I really do think that there was some other very important factor. The word 'microburst' was certainly mentioned to me by one person who works in the aviation industry, and it cropped up in yesterday's reports too.
Yes! Wait for the black box! Some people have prejudged the pilot, which I really do think is extremely unfair. On top of which it is inevitable that even the best pilots have bad days!
Note the two headlines here refer to separate incidents. I have placed the account of an emergency landing in a separate thread, which can be accessed by clicking the hyperlinked headline:
Emergency landing by AirAsia (http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?t=2773)
One-Two-Go jet retracted landing gear before crashing: AOT director Published on September 21, 2007
[.....] another injured passenger from the One-Two-Go crash in Phuket was dis-charged from hospital yesterday, Dr Prat Boonyawongwiroj, permanent secretary of the Public Health Ministry, said.
Chawit Jitjamnong, an 11-year-old boy, was allowed to go home, while Briton Christopher Cooley was be able to breath without use of a life support system. Dutch woman Sara Whittington was also moved from the ICU to a normal ward, he said.
As of yesterday evening, 25 people remained in three hospitals - three of them in ICU. Nine death certificates were issued to relatives, bringing the total to 14 for the 89 who were killed.
In related news, Chaisak Angsuwan, director-general of the Civil Aviation Department said One-Two-Go Flight 0G029's pilot had retracted the landing gear when the plane was 100 feet above the ground so he could ascend, said
Chaisak, a director of Airports of Thailand (AOT), he told the AOT board yesterday the plane's wheels did not touch the runway at the time of the accident.
Despite the incident, Phuket International Airport's safety standards had been proven to be in good condition as the incident showed no failing in the airport's runway or other equipment, he claimed.
AOT acting President Kulya Pakakrong said after the meeting the board had asked its managers to do a chronology of its operations in relation to the crash. The board also asked if the AOT recorded the incident from the beginning and that details be submitted to it as a precaution for the future.
"We could install closed-circuit TVs inside and outside terminals at all airports under the AOT's supervision, but we haven't worked out the budget yet," she said.
National Legislative Assembly members yesterday also questioned the standards of the aircraft and pilots of low-cost airlines.
Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongcha-um said that low-cost and mainstream airlines were subject to a similar set of rules and regulations.
..........
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/21/headlines/headlines_30049722.php
Note also the second headline link to a report on a One-Two-Go "crashlanding at Hat-Yai IA yesterday:
Pilot sent 'mayday' to tower
Second One-Two-Go plane has crash landing (http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?t=2782)
By Achadtaya Chuenniran and Thai News Agency
The chief pilot of the ill-fated One-Two-Go airliner sent a distress signal to the control tower just before it crash-landed last Sunday, said Pornchai Ua-aree, director of Phuket international airport. The pilot used a ''mayday'' signal to ask for help just before the plane veered off the runway and crashed into an earth embankment.
...........
Sqn-Ldr Pornchai, who briefed a delegation from the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) transport committee about last week's crash, said airport controllers had warned the pilot about gusting winds and rain.
He said the controllers received information [from the pilot] that as the aircraft was about to touch down, its wheels were out, but they did not touch the ground.
He cited the taped conversation between the air traffic controllers and the pilot.
''The chief pilot shouted 'mayday' repeatedly to ask for help until he lost contact with the control tower,'' Sqn-Ldr Pornchai said.
The NLA committee, led by Bannawit Kengrien, yesterday travelled to Phuket to compile information about the crash and visit the injured at Bangkok Phuket hospital.
On long-term measures to cope with emergencies at the airport, he said the airport needed better quality foam to extinguish fires. The foam used to douse the fire last week was not good enough to put the fire out completely, Sqn-Ldr Pornchai said.
He also suggested large, better-equipped hospitals be built near Phuket airport.
Currently, the closest hospital is Thalang hospital, a small hospital that cannot serve many emergency patients, he said, adding the large hospitals are situated far away from the airport.
He said another 50 CCTV cameras would be installed in and around the airport, in addition to the 50 cameras already in place.
The NLA panel also called on the airport to make sure its equipment is well maintained and staff properly trained, he said.
Adm Bannawit said improvements must be made to the airport's rescue capability.
He said the airport still lacked an efficient rescue team and there were no rescue helicopters available.
He said he would pass on complaints about shortcomings in airport rescue work to various agencies.
Adm Bannawit expected all airports under the supervision of the Airports of Thailand to finish installing security cameras by the end of the month.
As for the data recorders which were sent to the United States, he said, the information on the cause of the crash should be made available in a month.
............
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/23Sep2007_news03.php
Probe points to wind shear, pilot decision
Published on September 26, 2007
The probe into the crash of One-Two-Go flight OG029 in Phuket points to wind shear and the pilot's decision to land despite weather warnings as likely causes, the air crash investigation committee said yesterday.
"The initial finding, which encompasses the weather conditions at the time of the accident, communications between the tower and the crashed plane's pilot as well as other witnesses points to a single conclusion," said Chaisawat Kittipornpai-boon, permanent secretary of the Transport Ministry and chairman of the committee.
"However, we can't confirm this until we get the black box decoding result. So far, there has been no contradictory report from the black box," he told reporters after a meeting of aviation-related organisations.
The evidence showed the pilot and aircraft were in good condition, he said. Radio communications between the tower and the pilot of an Orient Thai Airlines MD82 plane that landed four minutes before OG029 showed there was wind shear and the pilot had asked controllers to alert the next plane due to land.
The tower duly informed the OG029 pilot of weather and runway conditions, but it could not bar him from landing as that was his decision, he said.
Analysis of the black box should be completed tomorrow and the committee would reconvene and compare the data with its initial finding.
If the two sources did not contradict, the panel would seek the transport minister's permission to reveal the official cause of the accident to the public, probably early next month. Otherwise, experts would be appointed for an in-depth analysis and that would take a while.
Attending the meeting were the Civil Aviation Department, Airports of Thailand Plc, Thai Airways International, Aeronautical Radio of Thailand, Civil Aviation Training Centre and Thai Pilots' Association.
Air Vice Marshall Vinai Plengvithaya, deputy director of air inspection and vice chairman of the committee, noted that in inspecting an air crash, the wreckage should be maintained in its original condition. However, in the OG029 case, all evidence had not been collected because the debris was removed to help the injured and clear the runway.
If the black box yielded data at odds with the initial finding, the Air Force will need to go to Phuket and gather more evidence, he said.
"In this investigation, we have applied the '3M' concept: 'Man' which is pilot, 'Material' or the plane and 'Media' or communications between the tower and pilot. In this case, our focus is inclined to the 'Media' factor," he said.
Vuttichai Singhamanee, director of the Civil Aviation Department's Flight Safety Standards Bureau, said that from his checks, the MD82 aircraft which served OG029 was in good shape, as the pilot did not report any problems prior the accident. The Indonesian captain also met safety requirements, as he had flown only five hours on the fateful day.
To fly a commercial plane, pilots must be free from alcohol for at least eight hours before takeoff and must not fly more than eight hours per day or 110 hours per month or 1,000 hours per year. Pilots aged over 40 must have a medical check-up twice a year.
Vuttichai also noted that on the day of the accident, the Venezuelan pilot who landed Orient Thai's MD82 plane ahead of OF029 informed the tower of the wind shears. "Normally, if the wind speed is beyond 20 knots, the tower must warn pilots. And in this case, the tower did warn the pilot."
Watcharapong Thongrung
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/26/national/national_30050279.php
http://etna.mcot.net/newsimages/p32153.jpg
[Photo:TNA]
Analysis shows wind shear caused Phuket air crash
BANGKOK, Oct 12 (TNA) – Analysis of flight and data recorders from the passenger jet o