A McDonnell Douglas MD-82 (DC-9-82) operated by Thai low budget carrier One-Two-GO (owned by Orient Thai Airways) crashed at Phuket airport in southern Thailand during landing, killing 87 of the 130 people on board, according to health ministry officials.
During heavy monsun rain and heavy crosswinds the pilot attempted to land. The visibility was poor as he decided to make a go-around but the plane lost balance and crashed. The plane skidded off the runway, broke into two and burst into flames.
A spokesman for the airline said the plane was carrying 123 passengers and seven crew members. Many of the 43 survivors were foreigners from Britain, Ireland, Italy, Germany, and Iran.
The island of Phuket is a popular resort destination for international and local tourists.
Two hospital treating survivors detailed their nationalities as: Australian: 1, Austrian: 1, British: 8, Dutch:1, German: 4, Iranian: 3, Irish: 3, Italian: 1, Swedish: 2, Thai: 14.
All flights from Phuket International Airport were canceled following the crash, which TNA reported caused “confusion and anger among travelers concerned to make connections to other destinations and to know when operations will resume.”
Phuket International Airport is the second-busiest airport in Thailand, according to the airport’s Web site. The airport is about 20 miles (32 km) from downtown Phuket.
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Accident Digest
Status: Preliminary
Date: 16 SEP 2007
Time: ca. 16:00
Type: McDonnell Douglas MD-82 (DC-9-82)
Operator: One-Two-Go Airlines
Registration: HS-OMG
C/n / msn: 49183/1129
First flight: 17 November 1983 (TWA – N912TW)
Crew: Fatalities: / Occupants: 7
Passengers: Fatalities: / Occupants: 123
Total: Fatalities: 88 / Occupants: 130
Airplane damage: Written off
Location: Phuket International Airport (HKT) (Thailand) show on map
Phase: Landing
Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport: Bangkok-Don Muang International Airport (DMK/VTBD), Thailand
Destination airport: Phuket International Airport (HKT/VTSP), Thailand
Flightnumber: 269
Narrative:
One-Two-Go Flight 269 departed Bangkok-Don Muang (DMK) at about 14:30 for a domestic service to Phuket (HKT). It was raining at Phuket when the MD-82 approached the airport. Wind was from the West at 12 knots.
On landing the airplane went off the side of the runway, crashed into trees and caught fire. Weather around the time of the accident (ca 09:00 Z) was: VTSP 160900Z 27012KT 1000 RA SCT015 BKN110 BKN300 24/23 Q1006 2973.
AIRCRAFT PROFILE MCDONNELL DOUGLAS MD-80
* Last fatal hull-loss accident: 16 AUG 2005 HK-4374X of West Caribbean Airways, near Machiques, Venezuela- 160 fatalities
* Total number of hull-losses: 22 (19 accidents, 3 other occurrences (destroyed on the ground )), of which 12 losses were fatal
* 6th worst accident
AIRPORT PROFILE PHUKET
* ICAO/IATA designators: HKT / VTSP
* Latitude: 08° 06′ 47.52″ N / 029° 14′ 18.47″ E
* Elevation: 82 ft/ 25 m
* Runway: 09/27 (9843 x 148 feet, asphalt, ILS)
* Third hull-loss accident of an airliner at or near Phuket Airport
OPERATOR PROFILE ONE-TWO-GO
Thai low-cost carrier operating out of Bangkok since 2003. It is wholly owned by Orient Thai Airlines.
* First hull-loss accident
COUNTRY PROFILE THAILAND
* Last fatal airliner hull-loss accident: 03 MAR 2001 Boeing 737-4D7 HS-TDC of Thai Airways International, Bangkok International Airport – 1 fatality
* 3rd worst accident in Thailand
Sources:
Accident Digest by Aviation Safety Network
Bangkok Post, CNN
Hi,
there are some points that leave me curious in this report… you mention strong rain and crosswinds.
You also say that the runway is 09/27, so oriented to the west, and the meteo message you give indicates winds from 270 degrees at 12 knots. This is straight in the axis, and 12 knots, even crosswind, is not an extraordinary value. Ok, 1000 meters visibility in rain is not so good, but it is well above the ILS minimas…
To say that differently, the METAR you copied does not indicate any particularly adverse weather conditions.
Do you have any hints on that ?
Thanks in advance
Hi,
yes you are right. The METAR indeed does not indicate any strong wind conditions.
However during monsun the weather conditions are very unsteady and can change extremely fast.
The reports about crosswinds/strong wind are based on statements by a spokesman of the Air Transport Authority of Thailand and eyewitnesses.
According to local media the weather in Phuket has been bad for several days, with thunderstorms and high wind gusts at times.
Thanks Michael,
this is exactly why I frequently distrust what officials are stating immediately after accident. Very frequently they react so to try “cover up their ass”. Sorry to sound rude, but there are no other words.
After the AirFrance A340 crash in Toronto, an AF official stated that he was “not understanding why the tower controller forced the aircraft to land in a thunderstorm”. Come on ! A controller has no ways to force an aircraft ! This was just an attempt to make the public feel that it was not their fault !
For the Phuket as for any other incident / accident, I’ll wait for the investigation report to know about the causes, as there are number of potential problems.
Thanks a lot for all your work on this website !