2 replies to this topic

[Sexpat]

"The professionalism of Thai Airways International's cockpit crew has been questioned by aviation experts after one of its pilots supposedly failed to report a recent incident in which a THAI aircraft skidded off the runway at Suvarnabhumi airport.

The 260-seat Airbus A300-600 was landing after an afternoon flight from Phuket about two weeks ago in 24-knot winds and rain when it skidded off the left side of the runway, according to industry sources. . .

The aircraft's left landing gear sank into the soft soil on the edge of the runway before the cockpit crew managed to pull the wheels back up on the tarmac and proceeded to park the plane safely, the sources said.

The jetliner's left-side landing gear and a section of the aircraft's fuselage were damaged, while some guiding lights on the tarmac were broken. The runway underwent a clean-up. It took 3-4 days to repair the aircraft in a secretive manner and the runway was forced to close for about one hour so that it could be put back into a good and safe working condition, the industry sources said.

Only the higher authorities of the national carrier and the Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT), which operates Suvarnabhumi airport, were informed of the incident, while the new pilot of the aircraft refrained from reporting the incident which sources said he was legally and ethically obliged to do. Neither were the aviation regulatory bodies, such as the Department of Civil Aviation, officially notified of the matter...

Airport officials say they have the whole incident on a videotape and have launched an investigation with a view to claiming compensation from the national carrier. While several parties have confirmed to the Bangkok Post that the incident did take place, THAI executive vice president Narongsak Sangapong yesterday flatly denied that it ever took place.

''There was no such incident. I have not received any reports about it,'' he stated, insisting the story was based on ''imagination and hearsay''."

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/21Jul2007_news02.php

[Garcia]

The 260-seat Airbus A300-600 was landing after an afternoon flight from Phuket about two weeks ago in 24-knot winds and rain when it skidded off the left side of the runway, according to industry sources. . .

That's exactly the kind of conditions that occurred in that tragedy in Brazil a few days ago. The plane landed during a rainstorm on a runway that some had warned was subject to serious skidding when trying to brake in wet weather.

I'm not saying the same conditions are at the new Bangkok airport. But it looks like the "bird flu syndrome" all over again, the way that Thai Airways and AOT officials reacted to it. They are so uptight about losing face over any problems at the new airport that they'd rather cover them up by failing to report them, rather than having them examined for public safety issues. TIT.

[Snowy]

There were times at Don Muang when all landings were suspended when there was a rain/thunder storm over Bangkok. This was introduced after a Qantas 747 skidded off the end of the runway a few years ago when landing during one such storm. I have twice been on aircraft since which have been held in a holding pattern away from BKK until a storm has passed - one time for nearly an hour going round and round in circles over Nakhon Sawan !