Phuket

djaust · #**106** 17-09-2007, 05:39

Very sad news sincere and deepest condolences.

Denver · #**107** 17-09-2007, 07:21

My sympathies to anyone even remotely involved with the crash yesterday.

I am not willing to speculate on what happened, I'm no aviation expert, pilot or crash investigator, I am sure the details will all come out in the end.

My own personal observations from yesterday:

I was at home in Kamala, when it went dark in the early afternoon, that was rain. No TV sat signal etc. Then my front slammed shut and the balcony doors started rattling, that was the wind. It lasted for about 15 minutes. Torrential, heavy rain and strong gusts of wind. I am guessing this was about the time this pilot was flying around and thinking of trying to put his aircraft on the ground. That was some bad weather!

From television here I saw several fire appliances, ambulances, cranes etc next to the plane. The reactions of the airport emergency teams appeared to be spot on but very little they could do I guess. Small mercy I know, but at least the injured got to a hospital quickly.

Television also reports that two or three aircraft landed before this one and had a really hard time of it with the wind squalls off the sea. hard landings etc due to some pretty bad weather here over the last couple of days.

I went out last night for food, shopping etc and chatted with several Thais and it seemed to have hit them hard as well. All watching TV's in supermarkets or listening to updates on the radio. I'm sure we will hear more today. The weather today, again, is heavy rain, dark storm clouds but the wind has dropped off a little.

Again, just my observations and again, sympathies to anyone out there who may have known someone on the flight.

Bello Uomo · #**108** 17-09-2007, 07:27

This terrible crash seems to be similar in a number of ways to the one in Brazil recently. Planes should not be made to land in atrocious conditions like those.

soicowboy · #**109** 17-09-2007, 07:30

May Budda bless them all.

IONIO · #**110** 17-09-2007, 07:42

Condolences to all the victims families. Hope all the injured recover quickly.

Liquido · #**111** 17-09-2007, 07:59

Does anyone know if the Pilot and Copilot survived??God bless all them souls...

wazzo · #**112** 17-09-2007, 08:00

This really is a terrible tragedy and my thoughts go out to all the victims friends and relatives.
I agree with the previous posts that we should not blame budget airlines, I'm not sure what the statistics are but don't believe the percentages of accidents would be much higher than the main carriers.
Where these airlines do let people down is in customer care. My daughter and her friend were due to fly back to Singapore last night (both British girls in their early 20's). As far as JetStar were concerned they offered zero help and told them that if they wanted to get back on Monday they would have to go off and find a computer and buy a new ticket online for 3,000 Baht. On top of the tragedy this really is a shocking attitude, I understand the airport was in chaos last night. I've not heard from them since about 10pm last night and have no idea if they found suitable accommodation or if they have been able to buy another ticket.

Bello Uomo · #**113** 17-09-2007, 08:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liquido

Does anyone know if the Pilot and Copilot survived??God bless all them souls...

Newspaper articles this morning indicate that the pilots survived.

Nautilus · #**114** 17-09-2007, 08:07

Read on Phuket Gazette, there was a Phuket Airport disaster drill last week, i guess they must have been prepared.

charlie5005 · #**115** 17-09-2007, 08:33

i was at work at time when it happened. initial info was that phuket airport
would be close due to disabled aircraft on runway. i had wanted to call to find
out but decided against, thinking it may just have been burst tyre/s or maybe
hydraulic failure. however, when was told that closure would be until midnight,
then did the notion that something worst could have taken place.

it was then someone saw the news flash on tv channels. the feeling was not
good. memories of SQ6 in taipeh came straight back. causes would only be
known later but it would be definitely a mixture of many factors.

sympathies and thoughts to families of deceased. i feel for you.

pablo · #**116** 17-09-2007, 08:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liquido

Does anyone know if the Pilot and Copilot survived??God bless all them souls...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bello Uomo

Newspaper articles this morning indicate that the pilots survived.

The latest arrticle in BKK Post, states that both pilots are listed among the fatalities. I would think so...as the front end takes the worst of impact.

[QUOTE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by charlie5005

i was at work at time when it happened. initial info was that phuket airport
would be close due to disabled aircraft on runway. i had wanted to call to find
out but decided against, thinking it may just have been burst tyre/s or maybe
hydraulic failure. however, when was told that closure would be until midnight,then did the notion that something worst could have taken place.it was then someone saw the news flash on tv channels. the feeling was not
good. memories of SQ6 in taipeh came straight back. causes would only be
known later but it would be definitely a mixture of many factors.
sympathies and thoughts to families of deceased. i feel for you.

Midnight turned to opening at 6:00 AM, to now (8:50 AM).....all morning flights cancelled, and noone knows when the airport will open.

Very predictable.

Airline accidents are horrific events, and are usually followed by a couple of days, of chaos...and misinformation. Truly sad, and my heart goes out, to those involved.

marlin258 · #**117** 17-09-2007, 08:56

deepest sympathies to all concerned, i have just heard on the radio an interview from the mother of robert borland who works and lives in phuket ,she spoke to him at 9.00pm last night , all he could tell her that some one drag him out of the plane with his clothes on fire, as far as she knows he has a broken arm and burns to his legs.

GOD BLESS ALL.

ATMwalking · #**118** 17-09-2007, 09:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by pablo

Midnight turned to opening at 6:00 AM, to now (8:50 AM).....all morning flights cancelled, and noone knows when the airport will open.

Very predictable.

I was very suprised there were going to open again so fast. The crash site needs to be investigated. You can't just treat it like scrap and move on. Close it for a week if they must. Just start running buses to the Krabi airport.

The need to get a better sense of the cause quickly. I've read several reports of the plane falling unto the runway. Sounded like a microburst to me. Whatever, just don't rush it and brush it away.

Microburst - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

aussie45 · #**119** 17-09-2007, 09:24

Very sad to hear the news of the aircraft crash, I heard it on the news frst thig this morning 6am Perth time (monday) When I checked my computer there was an msn message from my thai "daughter" from last night it said, "Dad, airplin fall from sky at Phuket, I watching on tv now, I very sad, many people die including Farang, do nort book with them" I spoke to her this morning and she was genuinely upset yet had no real connection with anyone on the flight.
My sympathies go out to all the families and friends of the victims of this tragedy.
I will not get into the blame game (as with the McCanns abduction in Spain) There seems to be too much speculation on what iff's. Let's wait until the investigation report comes out.
Once again my sympathies are with all of those people affected by this tradgedy

sledge038 · #**120** 17-09-2007, 09:31

not good news at all.
thoughts to friends and families of all casualties

StaffsShot · #**121** 17-09-2007, 09:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liquido

Does anyone know if the Pilot and Copilot survived??God bless all them souls...

Heard on radio pilot did not survive.
Really sad time for Thailand again. Thoughts to all those involved in this tragic accident

LivinLOS · #**122** 17-09-2007, 09:53

12Go has a history of trouble and warnings.. Also seems that the rumour mill is stating that the (indo ??) pilot had only just started his career.

Bad weather, pilot with low hours, etc etc

Simbo · #**123** 17-09-2007, 11:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack_Wow

Remarks judging the airline to blame are at best premature and at worst, very insensitive, especially for any relatives searching the web for information. Please leave future 20/20 hindsight comments out Nicke, they serve no purpose and may even hurt some people.
Don't want to start a flame war here, but guys, its not good to be smart after the event at a time like this and to do so frankly casts you in bad light. Especially when the actual cause is unclear.

Well said although I see that the usual suspects, including the BBC are already providing 'armchair' expertice. Tis for the investigators to work out what happened, not the Forum or the news agencies. My sympathies go out to the people who have suffered but its not for us to second guess and speculate.

bangladiver · #**124** 17-09-2007, 11:43

First of all deepest sympathies for anyone with friends or relatives on that plane. Speculation as to causes should of course be avoided at the moment until the facts are clear.

Was sat on air asia plane at phuket waiting to leave for KL at 4pm yesterday. Had been raining heavily all day but at about 4pm the rain got much much worse. For first time ever thought would not be able to take off. 15 Minutes later we were asked to leave the plane and return to departures. As leaving could just about see wreckage and smoke in far distance.

Eventually at 6.30pm were told will not be flying etc. Some (thankfully not many) stupid passengers shouting at staff about providing coach and hotel etc.

Had already passed immigration so they had to cancel my exit stamp making me overstay but they have written in it the reasons (was doing visa run new non-b application).

Been back this morning as they had very optimisticallty said would fly 7.30am but runway now closed until 5pm (imagine this will change aswell).

Immigration have kept our passports.

Puts alot of things into perspective.

wazzo · #**125** 17-09-2007, 11:50

I've just heard from my daughter and it seems Jetstar have finally got their act together and are telling passengers when they can fly. She is hopefully on a flight back to Singapore this evening.
Her and a mini-bus full of other passengers went back to her hotel where they were all given discounted rooms for the night. Today they have all been invited around for a free lunch by a nearby resident Indian family.
As terrible as these tragedies are they really do bring out the best in human nature

greenwood · #**126** 17-09-2007, 12:00

Wazzo, does not suprise me what you are saying about Jetstar, as I think they are now affiliated with Qantas here in Australia and were just awarded the prize for the worst domestic carrier in Australia.

They have also had a lot of problems with their Asian flights with delays etc since they started up late last year.

They have a bad habit of cancelling planes at the last minute if they are not full, and putting passengers from those flights on the next days ones. No question of compensation or hotels for people who do not live locally, much the same response to their problems that your daughter experienced.
They have had a lot of bad press over this over the last 6 months.

aussie dollar · #**127** 17-09-2007, 12:08

http://www.jetstar.com/pdf/news/20070731.pdf

jetstar votes worlds best budget airline

thaitan · #**128** 17-09-2007, 12:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack_Wow

Remarks judging the airline to blame are at best premature and at worst, very insensitive, especially for any relatives searching the web for information. Please leave future 20/20 hindsight comments out Nicke, they serve no purpose and may even hurt some people.
Don't want to start a flame war here, but guys, its not good to be smart after the event at a time like this and to do so frankly casts you in bad light. Especially when the actual cause is unclear.

I just searched back to find out why you are angry at Nicke comments but i can't find them. Did he delete his comments?

Bello Uomo · #**129** 17-09-2007, 12:49

I think he was just making that request to Nicke in his capacity as forum administrator with the power to delete comments.

Simbo · #**130** 17-09-2007, 12:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bello Uomo

I think he was just making that request to Nicke in his capacity as forum administrator with the power to delete comments.

Yeah just trying to pre-empt any adverse or unhelpul hindsite comments. It was not a comment against Nicke. Different interpretations of the English language- no harm done!

thaitan · #**131** 17-09-2007, 13:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simbo

Yeah just trying to pre-empt any adverse or unhelpul hindsite comments. It was not a comment against Nicke. Different interpretations of the English language- no harm done!

OK just thought he deleted something he should not have said. Sorry to all.

IJ · #**132** 17-09-2007, 13:15

4 irish on the plane....3 accounted for..1 missing...........
they say 88 dead and only 85 bodies recovered.......ij

Jack_Wow · #**133** 17-09-2007, 13:19

Just to confirm, I was merely requesting Nicke as admin try to moderate the 'second guess' element which invariably occurs in such circumstances.
I was not being critical of anything Nicke had written.

Mr Floatplane · #**134** 17-09-2007, 13:30

"unfortunately many airlines fuel planes with to little reserve fuel to actually have many options."

Really? Could you possibly name one of these many airlines?

Masterwoodsman · #**135** 17-09-2007, 13:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Floatplane

"unfortunately many airlines fuel planes with to little reserve fuel to actually have many options."

Really? Could you possibly name one of these many airlines?

I'd like to know too...

Planes have to follow strict CAA and FAA procedures when re-fueling which has to be documented and logged. The calculation made, regardless of how long or short the flight is, would ensure that there was more than a sufficient fuel load to allow for any abnormalities....

Hence questioning your Quote..(Erik1)

Caerphilly · #**136** 17-09-2007, 14:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Floatplane

"unfortunately many airlines fuel planes with to little reserve fuel to actually have many options."

Really? Could you possibly name one of these many airlines?

May those who passed to the other side rest in peace and those who survived make a speed recovery.

With regards to the above I know that in 2005 Thai air flight I was carried enough fuel to try to land twice getting within a few metres of the ground before pulling out of the landing and returning to Bkk.

On that day the big palm trees on the hills as the plane came in were blowing like windscreen wipers with really big sways from side to side.

capdagde · #**137** 17-09-2007, 14:17

Does anyone know if Phuket airport has ILS? My mate who is a BA pilot says a plane lands itself - I always get over my fear of flying by thinking about that - thinking about the traffic at Phuket airport it certainly should have ILS.

And of course, condolences again....

AC

faultytowers · #**138** 17-09-2007, 14:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by capdagde

Does anyone know if Phuket airport has ILS?

Yes it does , here is a link. But remember , no amount of equipment can take into account "mother nature".

sierradelta · #**139** 17-09-2007, 14:36

This is a tragic incident (91 confirmed dead here on Aust news) my thoughts and condolences go out to all the family and friends of the people killed and injured (both physically and mentally). It will take them all a long time to put this tragedy back into a place in their minds that does not hurt as much to think about.

I would also like to acknowledge the heroism of some of the passengers (some of them will never been know to any of us). It is in tragedies like this that the true human spirit shines through and “normal” people helping each other despite the chaos, flames, heat, threat to their own lives…”absolutely fcuking heroes”…that’s what I would like to say.

Many of us fly (some of us a lot), I fly half way across the world every 4-6 weeks (in 2 weeks I have to get on 3 different airlines to get back to Laos).

Do I ever have a moments thought about “will this be it?”…Yes. Can I do something about it…Yes, I can get up and get off the plane…Do I do that …No…Why not, because we all live daily in a 99.9% world.

We cannot go through life thinking…maybe this plane or train or boat or bus will crash and I may die (we can, if it helps, but in reality we would never leave the house).

The same goes for a huge 20-30 car pile up on the freeway…we all sit and go FFAARRKK. And the next morning we get in our cars and drive to work (maybe 10kph slower and with the headlights on for 2-3 days).

We all just hope the companies that make and manage these machines that we travel in are doing their job 100%. I used to think…”gee pilots get paid a lot for little hours worked”…now after flying across the world in 747 etc every 4-6 weeks…I now think they earn every single dollar…I just sit down, watch a movie, have a good perv at the lovely Thai air hostess and sleep.

In due course the “cause” of this incident will be known to all…we can all speculate, gossip, discuss etc. It will take weeks/months before the Black Box findings come back from the USA.

Yes we can start hurling the odd hand grenade at 12Go. We can talk all about the “low cost” airlines maintenance (tires and blow out) or about the “in-experienced” pilot (this plane did come in far too hard/fast on initial landing) or the weather (which by all accounts was shocking and a coastal ocean airport is a difficult task for most pilots on a good day) or any other factors that will let every individual deal with it in their own personal way.

Remember guys, running an airline is a fcuking expensive business…period.

This incident may or may not change peoples opinions on “cut price airlines” etc. (I personally never fly anything but a Tier 1 carrier), this is my own personal decision based on my own personal experiences, thoughts and opinions.

Some people say…”you get what you pay for”…I always come back with…”the Titanic sank and the Concorde crashed and they were the 2 most expensive rides of their time”!

Once again, my sympathies to all concerned and I hope that their recovery is as quick and as painless as it possibly can be considering everything that has happened.

Regards

SD

bullwinkls · #**140** 17-09-2007, 15:07

Went for the daily stroll along Nai Yang beach this morning. Walked down the walkway past the Swedish/Finnish tsunami memorial and to the beach side of the airport. Still several cranes working with trucks moving parts out. I was surprised at how far up the runway the incident occurred. There was at least a mile and maybe more of runway left so it's anyones guess as to what actually happened.
I used to fly small single engine land and sea planes but in a place where the weather seldom abruptly changed as it does here. I can imagine the pilot had his hands full with the very strong winds. I live near the airport and the wind at the time of the accident was blowing stronger than any winds I have witnessed since living in Thailand.