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Samui airport reopens this afternoon 
Samui airport reopens this afternoon
Samui Airport remained
closed, this morning, but was due to reopen at 1400 to commercial
flights.
It was closed to allow rescue teams to remove the
wreckage of a disabled ATR 72 that collided with a former control tower,
yesterday afternoon.
The captain died instantly on impact and 10
passengers, including crew, were hospitalised.
Civil Aviation
authorities temporarily closed the airport, while they carried out an
initial investigation and verified that the airport was safe to reopen
to commercial flight.
Bangkok Airways crash
Bangkok Airways
skidded off the runway, AP photo
Bangkok Airways had flights on
standby throughout the night at Surat Thani Airport to transfer stranded
passengers between Surat Thani Airport and Bangkok.
This
morning, Bangkok Airways re-routed eight flights, bound for Samui, to
the mainland airport at Surat Thani transferring passengers to and from
the island by bus and ferry.
President of Bangkok Airways,
Captain Puttipong Prasattong-Osoth, visited Samui, earlier today, for an
inspection, as well as to visit seven passengers who are being treated
at Bangkok Samui Hospital. Uninjured passengers were transferred to
their hotels on Samui, but have access to medical care in case of
stress, or post accident trauma.
Most of the 68 passengers on
board were foreigners.
Mr Prasaththong-osot, at a press
conference, yesterday evening, reported that PG 266 slid off the Samui
airport runway and crashed into a disused control tower. The front of
the aircraft was badly damaged resulting in the death of Flight Captain
Chatchai Punsuvan. Of the 72 people on board, seven passengers and three
crew members were injured. Five passengers suffered major injuries and
two minor injuries. The co-pilot was seriously injured and was the last
person to be evacuated from the aircraft. Two cabin attendants also
suffered minor injuries.
Bangkok Airways reported it has full
insurance cover with Bangkok Insurance for passengers and aircraft
damage.
The cause of the accident has still to be determined, but
initial observations suggest the aircraft landed in stormy conditions,
with strong cross winds, that caused the aircraft to skid off the runway
and hit a disused control tower.
The twin-prop, 70-seat, ATR 72
joined the fleet in July 2001. The 58- year old captain had 14 years
flying experience on ATRs and had served with Bangkok Airways for 19
years.
Internet news sites were already alluding to the
One-Two-Go accident, 16 September, 2007, in Phuket, where a MD-82
aircraft skidded off the runway and slammed into an earth embankment
killing 90 passengers. Strong cross winds were blamed for that accident.
Bangkok
Airways’ only previous fatal accident was also at Samui Airport, 21
November, 1990, when a 38-seat de-Havilland Dash 8 crashed on its final
approach to the airport, killing all 38 passengers and crew on board.
Reports suggested heavy rain and strong winds caused the plane to crash
into a hillside beyond the runway.
Strong winds gusts are common
in southern Thailand during July to September when the southwest monsoon
sweeps in from the Andaman Sea.
During yesterday’s press
conference the airline’s CEO stated: “To restore confidence, we have to
show that we have a excellent safety record. For this unfortunate event,
we will have to find out the actual cause and address any problem. I am
confident that we are still a very safe airline.â
Samui Airport
re-opened early this afternoon with the first departure on PG 100
leaving Samui at 1400 and arriving at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport at
1500. The first departure from Suvarnabhumi Airport was PG 153 at 1400
with an arrival in Samui at 1500.
Today’s flight movements in and
out of Samui Airport are as follows: Bangkok-Samui 16 flights;
Samui-Bangkok 17 flights; Samui-Phuket 1 flight; Phuket-Samui 1 flight;
Utapao-Samui 1 flight; Samui-Utapao 1 flight; Samui-Singapore 2 flights;
Singapore-Samui 2 flights; Samui-Hong Kong 1 flight; and Hong
Kong-Samui 1 flight.
The emergency call centre is 66 2 265 8777.Source: http://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2009/08/samui-airport-reopens-this-af...
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