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Wednesday , July 23 , 2008

Families blame lax safety for One-Two-Go crash..Newspaper reports and comment. A serious aviation issue !

Posted by Hermano_Lobo , Reader : 238 , 21:17:59

Families blame lax safety for budget airline crash Britons are joining a £125m lawsuit over the Phuket disaster The Sunday Times 20-7-08 Michael Sheridan in Bangkok LAWYERS for the British and American families of victims of an air crash in Thailand are seeking £125m compensation in the US courts in a case that may shed a harsh light on cost-cutting and safety standards at some budget airlines. The lawsuits follow the disaster on the holiday island of Phuket when an MD82 airliner operated by One-Two-Go, a Thai low-cost carrier, crashed on landing in heavy rain and wind on September 16 last year. Eight Britons were among the 89 people who died. There were 41 survivors, some of them badly burnt after the plane slewed off the runway, hit an embankment and caught fire. The captain, Arief Mulyadi, 56, from Indonesia, and his Thai co-pilot were killed on impact. Thai press reports say government investigators have reached an initial finding that pilot error was to blame. Since the accident the airline has denied allegations by some of its former pilots that crews worked excessive hours and that maintenance standards were lax. “We believe the air crash was completely avoidable and those responsible should be held to account,” said a statement from the parents of Alex Collins and Bethan Jones, a British couple who died. “While we accept that nothing can bring Alex and Bethan and the other people who lost their lives back, we are keen to make sure we prevent this from happening again.” Some British relatives of the victims have lent their names to an internet campaign by Bonnie Rind, an American whose brother died in the crash, calling for prosecutions in Thailand. Rind is also asking for an inquiry by the US National Transportation Safety Board. She has obtained numerous documents, including what she says is a transcript of material from the flight recorders. Rind said she was confident that the chilling details of the transcript, which appear to show confusion on the flight deck, were accurate. Flight OG269 from Bangkok was buffeted by heavy weather as it came in for landing. After a warning from the control tower of wind shear - a sudden, violent gust - the Thai co-pilot, who was flying the aircraft, opted to “go around” for a second approach. However, according to the transcript provided by Rind, neither he nor Arief engaged the correct controls after retracting the wheels. As the MD82 continued to sink towards the runway, the co-pilot’s last words were, “You have control.” There was no response from Arief. For 15 seconds the engines could be heard idling as the MD82 descended, then for four seconds they roared to full power as an attempt was apparently made to save the aircraft. Two seconds before the crash a wind shear alarm went off. Then there was silence. “It was clearly pilot error,” said Rind, a software engineer with a background in aviation. “There was no evidence of anything wrong with the plane.” She believes the captain was incompetent and was probably suffering from fatigue. Arief had a history of freezing at the controls during crises and had been working excessive hours, according to a documentary by Australia’s Channel Nine television. Crew rosters showed that at the time of the crash Arief had worked longer than the 110 hours a month allowed by Thai regulators. These rosters were handed to the authorities by the makers of the documentary. The programme interviewed François Wurst, a former pilot for One-Two-Go, who said he was flying with Arief on a charter for the United Nations in 2006 into Kabul to pick up Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, when the Indonesian “mentally froze” during rough weather on the approach. Other former pilots gave hair-raising stories of shoddy maintenance and pressure to work excessive hours as the airline cut costs when tourism collapsed after the 2004 tsunami. They claimed there were constant faults with electronics, hydraulics and engines on the fleet of MD82s and Boeing 757s. *Udom Tantiprasongchai, the founder of One-Two-Go, has firmly denied the allegations.* James Healy-Pratt of Stew-arts Law, a London firm acting for six Britons, said: “The families and victims are taking action in the US courts to force One-Two-Go to prove that they are not a low-cost, low-safety airline.” The American courts are involved because the Thai airline has business connections in the United States and the plane was made by McDonnell Doug-las, later bought by Boeing. The MD82 that crashed was first delivered to American Airlines in December 1983. US lawyers intend to name Boeing in the lawsuits, along with One-Two-Go, its parent company Orient Thai Airlines and Grandmax Group, a company connected to them which leased the doomed aircraft. The action will be closely watched in the London aviation insurance market because One-Two-Go and Orient Thai are insured by syndicates at Lloyd’s, plus other insurers. Udom said the company had paid medical expenses and other costs for survivors and had settled claims in 26 cases. “We, with our insurers, are trying to resolve the remaining claims as quickly and fairly as possible,” he added. Yesterday Thai media reports said One-Two-Go is to cease flying “temporarily” due to cost pressures caused by oil prices and market conditions. Additional reporting by Holly Groom *Significant points are in bold type.* Comments:- "My Mother and stepfather were killed in this crash, and as Alex and Bethans parents state, the more information that is uncovered ( by non official sources I might add!!) the more this tragic event was avoidable, and those who are ultimatley responsible should be held accountable. " diane evans, gold coast , australia ONE-TWO-GO AIRLINES Pilot error blamed for crash AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK Pilot error caused the fatal crash in Phuket last year and was the reason behind the grounding of One-Two-Go airlines, Chaisak Angsuwan, the director-general of the Civil Aviation Department, said yesterday. His statement contradicted one from the budget airline on Friday, which cited problems including rising oil prices and strong competition as the need to temporarily cease operations and ground all eight of its MD 80 series planes. Mr Chaisak said pilot error while trying to land at Phuket international airport on Sept 16 last year prompted the department to ban the entire MD fleet from service. Investigations found the plane and maintenance were up to standard, but the way the pilots worked needed to improve to meet international requirements, he said. The decision to ground One-Two-Go was based mainly on the inquiry by the National Transport Safety Board of the United States and the assessment of the department. The 56-day suspension will start tomorrow. The temporary ban will only apply to the MD 80 aircraft. All 747 jets flying for Orient Thai airlines, which also belong to Udom Tantiprasongchai, the owner of One-Two-Go, are allowed to keep operating, but improvements are expected within 30 days, Mr Chaisak said. He refused to go into detail. On Sept 16 last year a One-Two-Go MD-82 crashed in strong winds and heavy rain while trying to land at Phuket. The accident left 89 people dead and 41 injured. Transport Minister Santi Promphat said he was briefed on the report by the department chief on July 11. The decision to suspend the budget airline will be announced at a press conference today. Mr Udom said he accepted the results of the investigation, which pointed out faults by the pilots, and promised to make improvements. A source at the department said the agency had informed One-Two-Go about the need to improve its performance, but nothing was improved. The agency planned to ground both One-Two-Go and Orient Thai, but later decided to let Orient Thai continue operating. The source said the agency was not satisfied with the no-frills airline after finding that checks by the pilots were not being carried out properly. *Notice how the pilots are blamed for everything !* PHUKET AIR CRASH INVESTIGATION One-Two-Go grounded, pilots' licences cancelled AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK The Civil Aviation Department has ordered One-Two-Go airlines to halt operations for 30 days due to substandard operations and revoked or suspended the flying licences of nine of its pilots. Chaisak Angsuwan, director-general of the department, said suspension of the airline's Air Operator Certificate was effective from today. The department had found shortcomings in the airline's aviation operations, flight schedules and maintenance, along with a lack of quality assurance. The low-cost airline had violated aviation safety regulations and lacked proper airline management. The flying licences of seven of the airline's foreign pilots were revoked, six Indonesians and a Venezuelan, and the licences of two Thai pilots suspended. The department found the pilots on the airline's MD80 series aircraft had submitted documents misstating their level of expertise. The airline and its pilots were liable to criminal penalties and the department would file charges against them in two weeks, said Mr Chaisak. The announcement follows the department's investigation into the crash of flight OG269, an MD-82, at Phuket International Airport on Sept 16 last year, killing 89 people and injuring 41. *The airline was required to correct the flaws in its operations during the suspension period, or the department could either extend the suspension or terminate the airline's certificate.* *One-Two-Go was ordered to correct its flight schedules, aircraft maintenance and quality assurance system.* Mr Chaisak said One-Two-Go's parent airline, Orient Thai, was also warned it must change its flight schedules to allow its pilots enough rest time, as required by aviation safety regulations. Transport Minister Santi Promphat said other airlines would face similar punishment if they were found to have committed the same offences. Airlines should be more careful in examining the qualifications of their staff, especially their pilots, said Mr Santi. Udom Tantiprasongchai, the president of One-Two-Go Airlines, said the nine pilots were sacked on July 8. He had not previously known about the pilots' incorrect documents. He believed the airline could make all the changes required within the 30 days. This man should not run a noodle stall, let alone an airline. He employed the pilots, he knew their qualifications and current ratings. He overworked them and broke the rules as to how many hours they can fly. The Captain tried to land in conditions he should have avoided. The commercial pressure to land was great. "There are old pilots, there are bold pilots, but THERE ARE NO, OLD BOLD PILOTS ! Udom Tantiprasongchai - whereabouts unknown.

Families blame lax safety for budget airline crash

Britons are joining a £125m lawsuit over the Phuket disaster

The Sunday Times 20-7-08

Michael Sheridan in Bangkok

LAWYERS for the British and American families of victims of an air crash in Thailand are seeking £125m compensation in the US courts in a case that may shed a harsh light on cost-cutting and safety standards at some budget airlines.

The lawsuits follow the disaster on the holiday island of Phuket when an MD82 airliner operated by One-Two-Go, a Thai low-cost carrier, crashed on landing in heavy rain and wind on September 16 last year.

Eight Britons were among the 89 people who died. There were 41 survivors, some of them badly burnt after the plane slewed off the runway, hit an embankment and caught fire.

The captain, Arief Mulyadi, 56, from Indonesia, and his Thai co-pilot were killed on impact. Thai press reports say government investigators have reached an initial finding that pilot error was to blame.

Since the accident the airline has denied allegations by some of its former pilots that crews worked excessive hours and that maintenance standards were lax.

“We believe the air crash was completely avoidable and those responsible should be held to account,” said a statement from the parents of Alex Collins and Bethan Jones, a British couple who died.

“While we accept that nothing can bring Alex and Bethan and the other people who lost their lives back, we are keen to make sure we prevent this from happening again.”

Some British relatives of the victims have lent their names to an internet campaign by Bonnie Rind, an American whose brother died in the crash, calling for prosecutions in Thailand. Rind is also asking for an inquiry by the US National Transportation Safety Board.

She has obtained numerous documents, including what she says is a transcript of material from the flight recorders. Rind said she was confident that the chilling details of the transcript, which appear to show confusion on the flight deck, were accurate.

Flight OG269 from Bangkok was buffeted by heavy weather as it came in for landing. After a warning from the control tower of wind shear - a sudden, violent gust - the Thai co-pilot, who was flying the aircraft, opted to “go around” for a second approach.

However, according to the transcript provided by Rind, neither he nor Arief engaged the correct controls after retracting the wheels. As the MD82 continued to sink towards the runway, the co-pilot’s last words were, “You have control.” There was no response from Arief.

For 15 seconds the engines could be heard idling as the MD82 descended, then for four seconds they roared to full power as an attempt was apparently made to save the aircraft.

Two seconds before the crash a wind shear alarm went off. Then there was silence.

“It was clearly pilot error,” said Rind, a software engineer with a background in aviation. “There was no evidence of anything wrong with the plane.” She believes the captain was incompetent and was probably suffering from fatigue.

Arief had a history of freezing at the controls during crises and had been working excessive hours, according to a documentary by Australia’s Channel Nine television.

Crew rosters showed that at the time of the crash Arief had worked longer than the 110 hours a month allowed by Thai regulators. These rosters were handed to the authorities by the makers of the documentary. The programme interviewed François Wurst, a former pilot for One-Two-Go, who said he was flying with Arief on a charter for the United Nations in 2006 into Kabul to pick up Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, when the Indonesian “mentally froze” during rough weather on the approach.

Other former pilots gave hair-raising stories of shoddy maintenance and pressure to work excessive hours as the airline cut costs when tourism collapsed after the 2004 tsunami. They claimed there were constant faults with electronics, hydraulics and engines on the fleet of MD82s and Boeing 757s.

Udom Tantiprasongchai, the founder of One-Two-Go, has firmly denied the allegations.

James Healy-Pratt of Stew-arts Law, a London firm acting for six Britons, said: “The families and victims are taking action in the US courts to force One-Two-Go to prove that they are not a low-cost, low-safety airline.”

The American courts are involved because the Thai airline has business connections in the United States and the plane was made by McDonnell Doug-las, later bought by Boeing. The MD82 that crashed was first delivered to American Airlines in December 1983.

US lawyers intend to name Boeing in the lawsuits, along with One-Two-Go, its parent company Orient Thai Airlines and Grandmax Group, a company connected to them which leased the doomed aircraft.

The action will be closely watched in the London aviation insurance market because One-Two-Go and Orient Thai are insured by syndicates at Lloyd’s, plus other insurers.

Udom said the company had paid medical expenses and other costs for survivors and had settled claims in 26 cases.

“We, with our insurers, are trying to resolve the remaining claims as quickly and fairly as possible,” he added.

Yesterday Thai media reports said One-Two-Go is to cease flying “temporarily” due to cost pressures caused by oil prices and market conditions.

Additional reporting by Holly Groom

Significant points are in bold type.

Comments:-

"My Mother and stepfather were killed in this crash, and as Alex and Bethans parents state, the more information that is uncovered ( by non official sources I might add!!) the more this tragic event was avoidable, and those who are ultimatley responsible should be held accountable. "

diane evans, gold coast , australia

ONE-TWO-GO AIRLINES

Pilot error blamed for crash

AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK

Pilot error caused the fatal crash in Phuket last year and was the reason behind the grounding of One-Two-Go airlines, Chaisak Angsuwan, the director-general of the Civil Aviation Department, said yesterday.

His statement contradicted one from the budget airline on Friday, which cited problems including rising oil prices and strong competition as the need to temporarily cease operations and ground all eight of its MD 80 series planes.

Mr Chaisak said pilot error while trying to land at Phuket international airport on Sept 16 last year prompted the department to ban the entire MD fleet from service.

Investigations found the plane and maintenance were up to standard, but the way the pilots worked needed to improve to meet international requirements, he said.

The decision to ground One-Two-Go was based mainly on the inquiry by the National Transport Safety Board of the United States and the assessment of the department. The 56-day suspension will start tomorrow.

The temporary ban will only apply to the MD 80 aircraft. All 747 jets flying for Orient Thai airlines, which also belong to Udom Tantiprasongchai, the owner of One-Two-Go, are allowed to keep operating, but improvements are expected within 30 days, Mr Chaisak said. He refused to go into detail.

On Sept 16 last year a One-Two-Go MD-82 crashed in strong winds and heavy rain while trying to land at Phuket. The accident left 89 people dead and 41 injured. Transport Minister Santi Promphat said he was briefed on the report by the department chief on July 11.

The decision to suspend the budget airline will be announced at a press conference today.

Mr Udom said he accepted the results of the investigation, which pointed out faults by the pilots, and promised to make improvements.

A source at the department said the agency had informed One-Two-Go about the need to improve its performance, but nothing was improved.

The agency planned to ground both One-Two-Go and Orient Thai, but later decided to let Orient Thai continue operating. The source said the agency was not satisfied with the no-frills airline after finding that checks by the pilots were not being carried out properly.

Notice how the pilots are blamed for everything !

PHUKET AIR CRASH INVESTIGATION

One-Two-Go grounded, pilots' licences cancelled

AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK

The Civil Aviation Department has ordered One-Two-Go airlines to halt operations for 30 days due to substandard operations and revoked or suspended the flying licences of nine of its pilots.

Chaisak Angsuwan, director-general of the department, said suspension of the airline's Air Operator Certificate was effective from today.

The department had found shortcomings in the airline's aviation operations, flight schedules and maintenance, along with a lack of quality assurance.

The low-cost airline had violated aviation safety regulations and lacked proper airline management.

The flying licences of seven of the airline's foreign pilots were revoked, six Indonesians and a Venezuelan, and the licences of two Thai pilots suspended.

The department found the pilots on the airline's MD80 series aircraft had submitted documents misstating their level of expertise.

The airline and its pilots were liable to criminal penalties and the department would file charges against them in two weeks, said Mr Chaisak.

The announcement follows the department's investigation into the crash of flight OG269, an MD-82, at Phuket International Airport on Sept 16 last year, killing 89 people and injuring 41.

The airline was required to correct the flaws in its operations during the suspension period, or the department could either extend the suspension or terminate the airline's certificate.

One-Two-Go was ordered to correct its flight schedules, aircraft maintenance and quality assurance system.

Mr Chaisak said One-Two-Go's parent airline, Orient Thai, was also warned it must change its flight schedules to allow its pilots enough rest time, as required by aviation safety regulations.

Transport Minister Santi Promphat said other airlines would face similar punishment if they were found to have committed the same offences. Airlines should be more careful in examining the qualifications of their staff, especially their pilots, said Mr Santi.

Udom Tantiprasongchai, the president of One-Two-Go Airlines, said the nine pilots were sacked on July 8. He had not previously known about the pilots' incorrect documents. He believed the airline could make all the changes required within the 30 days.

This man should not run a noodle stall, let alone an airline. He employed the pilots, he knew their qualifications and current ratings. He overworked them and broke the rules as to how many hours they can fly. The Captain tried to land in conditions he should have avoided. The commercial pressure to land was great. "There are old pilots, there are bold pilots, but THERE ARE NO, OLD BOLD PILOTS !

Udom Tantiprasongchai - whereabouts unknown.

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comment 1
MamaSan date : 24/07/2008 time : 10.36
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/mamasan

Just a side note, Khun Hermano, has the new airport in the middles of the Cobra Swamp ever been certified by IATA and/or ICAO as being a safe airport? Have all the defects been remedied or corrected?

There seems to be a complete blackout of information on the new airport in the press. That tells you how good the thai press is when it comes to reporting and follow-ups.

Mama San
Bangkok
July 24, 2008

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